I Believe I Hate You
by idiotique
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley hate each other...don't they? Now appointed Head Boy and Girl, that means they'll be spending a lot of time together. Will they be able to stand each other for their last year of Hogwarts?
1. Prologue: The Early Years

_First Year_

_"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."_

_"Ron, for heaven's sake," said Hermione, half-stern, half-amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"_

_"You're right, sorry," said Ron, but unable to help himself, he added, "don't get __**too **__friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood."_

_The little girl stared up at her red-headed father in confusion, her blue sapphires for eyes twinkling. Her mother, who was standing beside her, was pinching the bridge of her nose._

_"Ron, please, enough-"_

_"Hey!" James' voice had overpowered their conversation, and everyone's heads turned in his direction, their argument seemingly forgotten. Rose's eyebrows furrowed together for a moment, then she shrugged it off, eager to listen to what her elder cousin had to say. She looked over her shoulder to peek over at the mysterious Scorpius boy her parents were bickering about earlier. She raised an eyebrow. _

_He was gone. She figured he must've boarded the train already. Shaking her head, she figured that she would have time to make introductions once she arrived at the school._

_Second Year_

_"Psst, oi! Rose...Rosie!"_

_Sighing in defeat, Rose dropped her quill and brushed a few soft curls out of her eyes. She looked up to face her cousin, Albus, who seemed to be panicking over a piece of blank parchment._

_"Help?" He asked, his bright green eyes flashing with worry. She bent over his empty roll of parchment. There was a single line of writing at the top, which read 'The Many Uses of Gurdyroot, by Albus Potter'._

_"Did you even make any sort of attempt on the essay, Al?" Rose asked exasperatingly. Albus made a face that gave her the impression that he did not._

_"Erm, kinda-"_

_"Okay, just read pages 154 to 156. That basically summarizes everything you need to-"_

_A soft 'thud' was heard, stopping Rose from completing her sentence. Albus raised an eyebrow, confused at first, but then he realized what caused the noise in the first place. He reached towards his cousin's hair and plucked out a crumpled up ball of parchment._

_"Ooh, looks like you've got a secret admirer, Rose. You best keep this away from James." Albus teased as he unfolded the parchment to read it. As soon as he got the paper to lie flat, Rose snatched it away from him, her cheeks a slight tinge of pink. Albus' emerald orbs scanned the study hall, tracking down any suspects. He was interrupted by Rose's nearly incoherent muttering, a habit she often fell into whenever she was angered._

_"What is it? What does it say? Who wrote it?" Albus asked eagerly, leaning over the table. Rose threw the piece of parchment at his face, temporarily blinding him. She then proceeded to shove her books in her bag._

_"Boys." She spat, and abruptly left the room. Utterly flabbergasted, Albus clutched the creased parchment in his hands and scanned it carefully. It was a crude drawing of his cousin with very bushy hair and teeth at least three times too big for her face, and the Gryffindor crest on her robes was crossed out. The magical image was moving; the crude drawing of Rose was jumping up and down with her hand in the air, as if she was waiting to be called on. The words 'Gryffindor's Biggest Nerd' were scrawled at the top. Albus frowned; he knew exactly who was behind this. He inclined his head towards the darkest corner of the room. A blonde boy with menacing grey eyes sneered back at him._

_Third Year_

_"That was a brilliant match, you two! Way to beat Slytherin for the third time this month!"_

_Rose's first year brother Hugo was just as a big Quidditch enthusiast as the Potter siblings. Unfortunately she was the only one who did not see the excitement in the sport, but she regularly came out to support her cousins._

_"Your dad must be very proud of you, Al. Seeker, just like him." Rose said, clapping her cousin, her best friend on the back. Albus' cheeks flushed pink and everyone broke out in laughter. They all met at the foot of the pitch at the end of the match and decided to have supper together at the Great Hall. They were just beginning to walk back when they bumped into three members the Slytherin Quidditch team: Scorpius Malfoy, and the Goyle brothers, Vincent (affectionately named after Crabbe of course) and Princeton. They all had very sore looks on their faces._

_"Malfoy." Albus greeted shortly, nodding his head once. Scorpius glared at him, his grey eyes like chips of ice._

_"What're you starin' at? Get out of the way will you?" He bellowed, his thin frame quivering under his muddy Quidditch robes. Rose scoffed and stepped in between Albus and Scorpius. Her blue eyes stared straight into his grey ones._

_"Don't talk to him like that. Show some manners." She said in an even tone. She straightened her spine in an attempt to look more intimidating. Instead, a corner of Scorpius' mouth twisted upwards into his trademark smirk, and he took a step closer. Rose did not back down._

_"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, Weasley? You gonna get your Muggle-loving family to come after me? Are you going to get your Muggle-obsessed Granddad, your loser father who could never live up to Harry Potter and your Mudblood Mum and-"_

_"SHUT UP! SHUT YOUR BLOODY MOUTH!" Hugo leapt forward with his wand, but James was quicker. He grabbed his younger cousin before he could do any harm. Scorpius laughed and his cronies joined in._

_"Always a blast to watch you squirm. I'll see you later." Scorpius smirked again, and he stalked off, Vincent and Princeton in tow. Rose stood stock still, but streams of tears were running down her cheeks. Lily strode up to her, trying to shake her out of her thoughts, but nothing seemed to be working. Rose only had one thought in mind, after all._

_She hated Scorpius Malfoy with a passion._

_Fourth Year_

_It was a wonderfully sunny Sunday. Rose and Albus were lounging around under the shade of a very familiar beech tree by the lake. Rose was sitting cross-legged, staring so hard into a textbook she could probably burn holes into the pages, and Albus was sitting casually with his back against the trunk, his head turned towards his cousin._

_"Okay here's a question that'll definitely be on the exam. Name the ten known species of dragon." Rose looked up from her textbook, only to see a weary Albus._

_"Umm…Chinese Fireball, the Common Welsh, Romanian Longhorn-"_

_An eruption of laughter interrupted their study session. Rose's head snapped over to the direction of the sound, her left eye twitching. She knew exactly who it was. Albus, on the other hand, was rolling his eyes. He placed his hands at the back of his head and blew his bangs away from his line of vision._

_"Drop it, will you? He's not doing anything to harm anyone." Albus muttered, closing his eyes. Rose shook her head._

_"You don't understand, Al. It's just that...everything he does...it just irritates me. His very existence makes me writhe in disgust." She grumbled contemptuously. Albus chuckled. His laughter shocked Rose and it made her glare in his direction._

_"What are you snickering about?" She asked acidly. Albus shook his head and waved her off with one hand._

_"Nothing, nothing. Just thinking, that's all." He said absently, his eyes still closed. Now a little more confused than frustrated, Rose sighed in defeat and turned her head towards the group of Slytherins crossing the field. Scorpius and his minions were leaning over the edge of the lake, possibly looking for the giant squid or something. Vincent was leaning in a little too far in, and he subsequently fell into the lake. Right before he fell in, he grabbed onto his brother's robes, pulling him in with him, and Princeton grabbed onto Scorpius', pulling him in as well. In a matter of minutes the three Slytherin boys were bobbing in and out of the water, spewing insults at each other, with a good amount of the school population pointing and laughing at them. Rose giggled to herself and continued to watch quietly._

_Fifth Year_

"_Hey, you two. Duty calls." James hollered from upstairs. Albus' and Rose's prefect badges glimmered proudly in the common room that chilly November evening. The fireplace roared on, and Rose turned her back to it to face her older cousin._

_"Yes, yes, we know. We're going now. See you in a couple hours." She said as she followed Albus out of the portrait hole. She hated going on patrol, especially during the winter. The stony interior of Hogwarts never really served as a good insulator._

_'"Let's start off here first. Stay close to the lanterns so you won't get cold so quickly." Albus advised, gently pushing her towards the wall. Rose uttered a quiet thanks and they continued their patrol in silence for a few more minutes. Suddenly, a quiet shuffling interrupted their peaceful walk. The back of Rose's neck felt uncomfortably prickly, and she could feel Albus tensing up by her side._

_"Wand at the ready?" She heard his voice quiver slightly. She nodded wordlessly as she reached into her robes with a shaky hand to retrieve her wand. The two Gryffindor prefects exhaled deeply at the same time before taking slow steps into the unknown._

_"W-who's there? Show yourself!" Albus shouted. His voice bounced off the stone walls, making it sound louder than it should. There was no reply. Rose gulped._

_"This better not be some kind of joke…" She quickened her pace a little so that she was ahead of Albus. She just wanted to get this over with. As soon as she rounded the corner, a piercing, high-pitched scream erupted from behind, catching her off guard. She screamed in perfect harmony with the previous scream, and her wand clattered to the floor. Albus rushed to her side, ready to battle whatever it was that was threatening to attack, but when he realized who it was, he instantly lowered his wand._

_"Rose, calm down. Scorpius, bugger off, will you? You're getting a little old for things like these. Grow up for Merlin's sake." Albus cried out frustratingly. A smug Scorpius stepped out of the shadows, his hands shoved in his pockets and his white-blond hair gleaming in the light emitting from the lanterns. Rose opened her eyes and turned around to face her 'attacker'. Her blue eyes seemed to burn red with anger._

_"You-you…"_

_"Ravishing young gentleman? Handsome devil?" He suggested cockily. Rose's hands balled into fists. Albus muttered a quick 'Accio Rose's wand' before any further trouble occurred._

_"Oh, sod off, will you? I've had enough of your boorishness! You strut around the school seven days a week, thinking you own the place, with those two halfwits you call friends, and all you do is make people feel bad about themselves, probably because you can't admit to yourself that you're just as pathetic as your insults are! You know, as the years go by, your words are getting older and older and I'm getting tired of hearing them. Why don't you go back to your damp little common room underground and write up some more petty insults for everyone to ignore? Pretty soon no one's going to care what you have to say, and you're just going to end up whining about how no one's paying attention to you, and you'll only have yourself to blame in the end." Rose was breathing loudly now. The clouds of her breath puffed one after the other out of her mouth like a steam engine. Albus and Scorpius stared at her, dumbstruck._

_"S'about time." Scorpius said with one of his smirks, and whirled around to walk away. Rose suddenly had the urge to reach out to him, to call out to him, but she relinquished the thought and turned towards her cousin, trying her hardest to avert her gaze from the Slytherin who she was yelling at just seconds earlier._

_"L-let's go back. I'm freezing my arse off." She said, visibly uneasy. She knew that they still had an hour or so left on patrol, and she was sure Albus was aware as well, but it was clear that the both of them were not in the mood for it. Albus threw a comforting arm around his cousin's shoulders and the two walked back to the Gryffindor common room in silence._

_Sixth Year_

_Rose hated Potions. It was one of her least favourite subjects. She loathed the classroom. It always smelled damp, like it was just rained on, and it was obvious that the dungeons have not been cleaned in awhile. She stared at her textbook with glassy eyes. She had gotten hardly any sleep the night before, due to some stupid Runes essay she was doing (it was worth ten percent of her final mark, so she had to make it perfect), and she could barely keep her eyes open. She hardly even acknowledged the fact that Albus was nudging her elbow, telling her that class was over._

_"Oh-right...okay, lemme get my stuff-"_

_She packed her cauldron and her textbook and trudged out of the classroom, following her cousin out of the dungeons and into the sunny hallways of the upper floors. Suddenly, her bright blue eyes snapped open._

_"Bloody hell-"_

_"Language, Miss Weasley. Five points from Gryffindor." Albus said in a high-pitched, pompous voice. He snickered and turned towards a very apprehensive looking Rose. "What's the matter?"_

_"Quill, quill...forgot quill-bloody-" She smacked herself a few times in a vain attempt to wake herself up. "I'll be back."_

_She hurried back down the stairs to the dungeons and turned a quick corner, only to bump into something hard, and something much taller than her. Blushing in embarrassment, Rose apologized and looked up, only to stare straight into the eyes of Scorpius Malfoy._

_"Oh, it's you. I take back my apology then." She said in a clipped voice. Scorpius rolled his grey eyes and held up a single, scarlet feathered quill._

_"This yours?" He asked wearily. Rose blinked in confusion for a few seconds. That was her quill alright, but was Scorpius returning it to her? Scorpius Malfoy?_

_"Erm, yeah...it is. T-thank you." She stuttered, plucking the quill out of his thin fingers. Scorpius smirked, but for some reason she didn't feel the same contempt for him like she usually did. _

_"Don't mention it. See you in Herbology." He shouldered his bag and then walked away. Rose stared at his back as he casually made his way through the crowd of students. She then looked at the quill in her hand, a thousand thoughts racing through her head._


	2. Storm's A Brewin'

_A/N: Thanks to Marrou for eyeing my mistake. Being North American, I'm not accustomed to how UK school systems work. My sincerest apologies._

_Here's a revised version of the chapter. _

**Storm's A Brewin'.**

September came quickly, and before Scorpius Malfoy knew it, he found himself standing in the midst of a crowd of hustling and bustling families on Platform 9 3/4 with his parents and his younger sister by four years, Lyra. He could hear his parents talking to him, but he was not paying much attention. He was busy scanning the crowd, looking for any familiar faces, particularly the Goyle brothers, Porter Parkinson, and Holden Zabini.

"This is your last year, boy. You better make this count, and when I say make this count, I mean take that Weasley's girl's place at the top spot of every class." Draco demanded coolly. Sighing, Scorpio nodded without looking at his father. Draco had the mindset of a typical Malfoy, and it was to be the best at everything, and when you knew you could not do so, just pretend you were and boast about it. In the past Scorpius adopted his father and his grandfather's views but as he grew older he realized that there really was not a lot of clarity in this point of view, and that it was about time he set about to find his own path...though it was a little irritating that a _girl_, Rose Weasley out of all girls actually, was beating him in every class, but then again, was second place really so bad?

"Scorpius dear, your hair. Whatever happened to it? It used to be so nice…" Astoria, his mother, was reaching out towards his wayward blonde locks and the moment Scorpius felt her fingertips brushing against it he jumped back a foot or two as if her touch burned.

"Please mother, I'm not a child. I can take care of myself." He protested, ignoring Lyra's giggling. He glared an icy grey glare at his younger sister, but it did not shut her up at all. She looked nothing like him, who inherited her mother's swaying black hair and her heart shaped face. The only thing they had in common was their father's metal grey eyes.

"If you can take care of yourself then surely your hair would look neater than it is now." Draco commented dryly. Scorpius rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. When he was younger he kept his white-blond hair slicked back in a style that mimicked his father's, but as he grew he adopted more of a 'wear it as it is' hairstyle and now it looked as if he just got out of bed. It was untidy, but in a fashionable sense, and on the plus side, it could not possibly be as disheveled looking as that Potter boy's hair. How that boy managed to get his hair to look like that, only Merlin knew.

"Oh, the train is about to leave. You two better get a move on." Astoria pointed out. The Hogwarts Express was gathering up steam, and the remaining students were rushing to get into the train. Lyra was already making her way inside, and Scorpius began to follow suit. Before clambering inside he took one last look at his father, who nodded curtly. The young man nodded back, a light squirming settling in his stomach. He only just realized how much he resembled him.

_I'll try my best not to let you down. _He thought weakly as he stepped inside. The train was alive with conversation, mostly first years talking animatedly about what house they wanted to be sorted in, or myths about the school and whatnot. He smirked, then remembered suddenly that he was Head Boy and that he was supposed to meet up with the other houses for some kind of meeting.

_Bloody-_

"Scorpius?"

_Rose? _No, her voice was higher. He spun around only to see Porter Parkinson's sixth year sister, Patricia. He felt his eye twitch and he tried his best to look happy for her. She was not great to look at, and she was a little annoying. He miserably remembered her following him nearly everywhere last year, trying to do Merlin knows what.

"Oh, hullo Patricia. Nice to see you again. How was your summer?" He asked politely as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Patricia's cheeks seemed to flush pink, he had no idea why, and she placed her hands behind her back. Her gaze was averted to the floor.

"It was good." She said with a giggle. Scorpius cleared his throat and shifted his gaze to the side, clearly uncomfortable. He needed some sort of an outlet, a distraction…

"Oi! Malfoy! That you? You're needed over here!"

He sighed in relief, but not too loudly so Patricia would not hear him, and he pretended to look forlorn.

"Looks like I have to take off. See you in school Patricia." He said quickly, and proceeded to the farthest compartment down the hall to the left. He swiftly opened the door to greet the seventh year prefects from the other houses. Lorcan Lovegood from Ravenclaw was reading the Quibbler upside down in a far corner, while his prefect counterpart Mina Chang stared with a raised eyebrow from the seat across from him. Hufflepuff prefects Walter Muntz and Cassandra Peralta were playing some kind of Muggle card game with each other. The now lone Slytherin prefect, Tatia Schultz, was sitting beside them with her arms crossed, stubbornly quiet. She noticed Scorpius coming in and she inclined her head, smiling up at him. He distractedly smirked back. He stopped himself, suddenly realizing that there had to be a _Head Girl _in all of this somewhere...

Scorpius turned his head to the other corner of the small compartment, only to see that only one of the Gryffindor prefects were present. Albus Severus Potter had grown over the years, and he looked almost exactly like his famous father, just without the scar and rounded glasses. Albus was skinny and tall (though not as tall as Scorpius) and a little gangly looking. He was sitting patiently by the window with a far off look on his face, possibly waiting for the Head Girl to arrive. Scorpius had a feeling it was-

"Sorry I'm late! Brothers and sisters kept me for a moment. We can start now, if you'd like."

Scorpius spun on his heel to face the newcomer. He stood, motionless for a few long seconds, staring with unreadable eyes. Rose Weasley was staring back, her eyebrow raised in confusion. She _was _pretty, he had to admit. No girl in Slytherin could amount up to her, he did not care what his father had to say. She certainly grew over the summer, she was probably up to his shoulder by now (it was an improvement from last year). She was slim, but she curved in just the right places (he slapped himself mentally for thinking that, but then he told himself that her choice of clothing gave that away, so it was not entirely his fault). Her hair was no longer the bushy mess it used to be from their childhood. As they grew into their teens it smoothed out into a thick wave of soft curls that rippled gracefully past her shoulders. He also noticed that the colour was a mix of her parents': not really a flaming red or a rich brown, but more of a deep bronze or copper.

But the part he probably loved (yes, Scorpius Malfoy _loved_) most had to be her eyes. They seemed to have darkened over the years. He remembered how they used to be, on the first day he met her, when they were a bright sky blue. Now they were a beautiful shade of navy. Two pairs of glimmering sapphires.

It was as if he found himself drowning in them whenever he looked at her.

Then, her soft, full lips parted ever so lightly, ready to speak...

"Oh great, you're Head Boy?" She muttered, and that killed everything. Hot fury bubbled inside his chest, and he clamped his eyes shut to contain himself. After a slow minute, he reopened them, and put on his most relaxed expression. Inside, his chest felt like it was going to implode.

"Surprised to see you here myself, Weasley." He said flatly, crossing his arms. Rose rolled her eyes and moved around him to sit beside her lanky cousin. He sat beside Tatia, who seemed overwhelmed at the fact that Scorpius Malfoy was sitting at such close proximity. When he took that into consideration, he scooted a few inches away for safety.

"Be thankful Daddy can pull a few strings for you, otherwise you wouldn't have to feign surprise." Rose said from the other side of the compartment. Those words grated against Scorpius' veins, and they hung over the air in an awkward silence.

_My father has no say in anything. I've done everything for myself. He didn't do anything for me. He was the one who had the strings pulled for him. _

He gave her a nasty glare, probably one of the worst ones he had ever given in his seven years at Hogwarts. It was so intense that everybody in the room noticed and felt its burn. Rose sat quietly, taken aback for a second or two. It was clear that she was intimated somewhat, but he knew her better than that. She did not back down.

"So, the meeting. What are we gathering here for this morning?" She pressed on casually, avoiding his gaze. Her voice was a little shaky He smirked and leaned back against his seat, feeling triumphant. Beside him, Tatia was giggling as if to agree with him. Inside, he couldn't help but feel like banging his head against the wall. He was Head Boy, and Rose Weasley was Head Girl.

It was going to be a hell of a long year.

--

_Damn you, Scorpius. You and your stupid intensified glares._

_And out of all things, why did **he **have to be appointed Head Boy?_

The meeting ended half an hour ago, and Rose was back in her compartment with her various brothers and sisters with a splitting headache. Being the oldest of five siblings had its disadvantages, especially when all of your younger siblings were going to the same magical boarding school as you were. She now had fifteen year old Hugo, thirteen year old fraternal twins Randy and Mandy, and twelve year old Jane to look after. The day Jane was born, her mother's words were plain and simple:

_"There will be a time when all of you will be at Hogwarts, and when that time comes, they will be your responsibility."_

Jane was not much of a hassle-in fact Jane was a lot like her and their mother, so she was hardly any trouble at all, even when she was a baby. Mandy was not so much of a bother either, only when she was not with her twin brother. Basically it was the boys who gave Rose headaches.

_Boys._

Speaking of boys, Rose rubbed her temples with her index and middle fingers, her deep blue eyes shut tight. Vivid memories of the recent compartment meeting flooded her sore brain, particularly the image of a certain grey-eyed stare. Jane peered up from her old handed down copy of _Hogwarts: A History _and eyed her oldest sister worriedly.

"What's wrong, Rosie?" She asked, setting the large book on her lap. Rose opened her eyes slowly and ran a hand through her thick hair.

"Nothing major, Jane. Just a headache, that's all. Go back to reading your-oh, is that the one I gave you?" She asked, looking at the book's title. Jane raised a skeptical eyebrow, knowing that it was more than just a headache.

"Maybe you should go out and walk around for a bit. Get some...er, fresh air. It might help a little." Jane suggested as she leaned over to slide the compartment door open.

"Hey, where're you going? Are you looking for the sweet trolley?" Randy called out from behind.

"Can you fetch us a box of chocolate frogs?" Hugo asked.

"Oh, and maybe some licorice too…" Mandy added on.

"She's not getting any sweets, you lot! She's just going for some fresh air!" Jane shouted at her older siblings. She gently pushed Rose outside.

"I'll take care of everything from here. You run along now." Jane said with a sweet smile. Rose smiled weakly and bent down to give her youngest sister a hug.

"Thanks Jane. I won't be gone too long." She said merrily as she began her walk. Jane waved one last time before closing the compartment door. It was not exactly quiet in the hall, but it surely was quieter than the compartment she was sharing with her brothers and sisters. She felt her headache lifting already as she took a few steps, passing the first few compartments.

"So what was the meeting all about, Malfoy?"

The hair on the back of Rose's neck stood up at the mention of Scorpius' name. She stood stock still and tried to register where the source of the voice came from.

"Nothing important. Just something about how I have to help escort the stupid first years and whatnot. Why?"

She moved closer to the right and leaned against the compartment door, looking through a slit in between the slides. She could see Scorpius sitting casually, staring contemptuously at somebody, most likely one of his Slytherin cronies.

She never understood how boys worked. When they were eleven she was at least three inches taller than him. Now that they were almost seventeen, he was nearly a head over her in height. Unlike her cousin Albus, who was practically skin and bones, Scorpius filled out some, having an athletic-like build under that all black attire (she inwardly cursed herself for making that observation). His hair, which was as pale as his complexion, was in a casual disarray, and it suited him. His piercing grey eyes looked as if they could burn a hole through anything. His sharp features looked exaggerated under the light.

"Oh, well, I heard that Tatia Schultz was at that meeting too."

"Well, yes. She's the Slytherin prefect, you dolt. What's your point?"

"What do you mean by that, Malfoy? It's Tatia Schultz we're talking about here! Have you _seen_ her face?" That was Holden Zabini's voice.

"Why yes, yes I have. I've managed to stumble across it once or twice." Scorpius replied unconcernedly. Rose giggled softly and held a hand to her mouth to stifle it. Tatia Schultz _was_ pretty, she could not help but admit that. The lovely pureblooded brunette had transferred from Beauxbatons in second year and ever since then she had been trying to get Scorpius' attention, but had failed miserably for some reason. Scorpius' ignorance towards her had become somewhat of a running gag throughout the years.

"Say, did you hear that?" Asked Porter Parkinson. Rose immediately took a step back. They probably heard her somehow. She took a few more steps back and began to walk away, pretending that she was never there. She bounded down the hallway and turned the corner. Moments later she heard the compartment door slide open. She pressed herself against the wall and suppressed a laugh.

"Rose? What are you doing out here?"

Rose shrieked, startled, and turned around, only to see Albus staring back at her. He motioned for her to settle down.

"Sorry, you startled me." She said sheepishly, peering around the corner. The compartment door was closed. Albus shook his head and grabbed her by the arm, leading her down the hall.

"Why aren't you with your brothers and sisters? Aren't you supposed to be watching them?" He asked. Rose cursed inwardly and shook free of Albus' grasp.

"Oh bugger-that's where I'm supposed to be. Thanks for reminding me, Al. I'll see you around." She said hurriedly, and proceeded to walk back to her compartment. Albus hesitated for a moment, stopping her in her tracks.

"Um, d'you mind if I join you? Lily's with Lysander and-"

"Of of course you can, Al. You know you don't need to ask." Rose replied with a smile. Albus smiled back and began to follow her down the narrow corridor. As they continued their walk back, they passed Scorpius' compartment, and Rose could not help but feel a pair of grey eyes staring at her through the doors.

_Just you wait, _She thought deviously as she slid open the door for Albus to enter. _School's got a lot more in store for you than you think._


	3. Redecorating

**Redecorating**

The first few days back were always Rose's favourite time of the school year. After a long summer, she enjoyed coming back to the familiar smells of fresh parchment and ink and crisp pages from a good informative textbook. She had very little time to lounge around, as it was her seventh year, which also meant that N.E.W.T.s were coming up (ten months from now), and she needed to work as hard as ever. It was midday now, on the very first Wednesday of the year, and she had spare period. She had an hour before lunchtime, and Albus was still in Transfiguration, so she remainder of the morning to herself. It was a lovely autumn day, and it was not too chilly, so she decided to sit under the old beech tree to start on that Arithmancy assignment that was assigned to her this morning.

She was in the Gryffindor common room, having just finished her only class of the morning, Arithmancy. She decided to climb up the stairs to her dormitory to leave a few of her books behind, only taking what she needed. As she made her way back down the stairs, she turned her head slightly to face the window that overlooked the Quidditch pitch. A class of first years were taking their first flying lesson today. Rose squinted a little and spotted two red heads among the crowd of broom-wielding first years. One of them was already halfway in the air, while the other one was trying to get the broom into her hand.

"Dominique and Roxanne." She smiled to herself as she continued to make her way down the stairs. She waved to a couple of fellow Gryffindors who were studying by the fireplace and exited through the portrait hole. She made her way through the ever-changing staircases and the stony hallways, out onto the warm sun-kissed courtyards of Hogwarts. She closed her eyes, basking under the warm sunlight, letting the heat rise into her cheeks and underneath her eyelids. She smiled, comforted, and when she was satisfied she opened her eyes to continue her walk. It was only early September, so the trees were still lush and green, but the air was not as inviting as it used to be.

A few minutes later Rose was settled underneath the same beech tree her parents and her uncle once sat under many years ago, and her uncle's father in the years before that, with her book bag by her side and a thick Arithmancy textbook cradled in her lap. She enjoyed the subject-in fact it was probably one of her favourites. She was a factual person, and the idea of memorizing and organizing numbers was appealing to her. She reached into her bag for her preferred scarlet plumed quill, ready to start her assignment. Nothing could possibly ruin this perfect day.

--

_She has my spare?_

Scorpius absently scuffed the floor with his shoe, his hands shoved in his pockets. He watched her leave the school, walking out onto the grounds and sitting under that tree she always sat under with Potter and her other billion Weasley cousins and siblings. He swore that with every year that passed, at least five to ten more Weasleys popped into existence. It was nauseating to think of, really.

"Mister Malfoy?" A stern voice crept up from behind, which caught him off guard. Scorpius jumped and spun around, eyes wide. He relaxed only slightly when he realized it was the Headmistress of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall, who called on him.

"Y-yes, Professor?" He asked, straightening up. He rubbed the back of his head, making his already unruly hair stick up. McGonagall scrunched her nose, he had no idea why, and eyed him head to toe.

"Are you...busy at the moment?" She asked skeptically. Scorpius shook his head quickly, raising his hands to further prove himself.

"No, no! D'you need help with anything?" He asked politely. McGonagall peered over his shoulder. In the far distance she could see Rose Weasley sitting under the old beech tree.

"Both Head Boy and Girl by my side would be better than just the Head Boy." The older woman prompted, tapping her foot. Scorpius sighed, his shoulders sagging by the slightest.

"Erm, alright, I'll get her, but what exactly do you need help on, Professor?" He asked jadedly. McGonagall waved him off with one bony hand without even looking at him.

"It will be revealed to you when both of you return here to me. Now hurry along, your spare won't last forever!"

Scorpius nodded so hard he thought his head was going to snap off and began to jog towards the beech tree. He had a queasy feeling in his stomach, knowing that interrupting Rose's private study session was never a smart thing to do, but if it was under McGonagall's instruction, then what other choice did he have?

As soon as he got to at least a few feet away from her, he slowed down to a walk. His heart was beating rapidly, but he was not sure if it was from the jog. He was Quidditch Captain-he kept in shape. A short jog would not tire him out.

As he got closer to the beech tree, he noticed that she was sitting down with her back against the trunk, fully immersed in what looked like a Arithmancy textbook. She was scribbling down line after line of complicated looking equations. Her eyebrows were knitted together in deep concentration, and she was frowning slightly. Scorpius smirked and crossed his arms, watching her in silence for a brief moment. He liked it when she was doing her homework. For one, he liked the way she looked when she was doing it, and secondly, it was a blissful moment for him to see her in such a state. It was one of those moments where she was not either nagging him or arguing with him. It was peaceful with the silence, but in a way he kind of liked the bickering.

"All right, Weasley?" He piped up, breaking her train of thought. He heard her exhale loudly, and she looked up from her textbook. The sun was shining through parts of her hair, making it look more scarlet than bronze, and her dark blue eyes seemed to be sparkling. The mood would have improved a lot if she was not scowling though.

"What do you want, Malfoy? I already have to endure Head responsibilities with you; why can't you wait 'till then to bother me?" She asked exasperatingly, motioning towards her homework. He chuckled and took a few steps closer, squatting in front of her. He noticed that she did not have a lot of freckles like the rest of her family did, only a very faint trail on the bridge of her nose. She edged back a little, creeping up against the beech trunk. Scorpius smirked, victorious once again, but at what, he had no idea.

"We _are _doing Head responsibilities as we speak, Weasley." He said, jerking his head towards the school grounds. Rose peeked over his shoulder to see what he was motioning towards. "McGonagall's called us. Wants help for something."

"For what?" She asked, still looking at McGonagall, who was staring impatiently at them from a distance. She flushed and immediately turned her attention back to Scorpius.

"Dunno. Said she'd explain once I fetch you." He said as he got up, grabbing her textbook along the way. She raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised at his courtesy, and proceeded to roll up her parchment. He smirked at her reaction and waited for her to finish packing her things. Once she was finished, he handed her textbook back.

"Thanks." She said quietly, and stowed it away in her bag. They made it back to McGonagall in silence, who did not seem pleased.

"Took you look enough. What were you two doing up there, admiring the view? Come now, we have work to do!" She exclaimed, and motioned for the two Heads to proceed down the hallway. Exchanging looks of confusion, Scorpius and Rose turned towards their Headmistress.

"Um, Professor, what exactly are you going to have us do?" Rose asked, worry etched all over her pretty features. McGonagall spun around and faced the two Heads of the Hogwarts student body, noticing a sharp contrast. Rose's shirt was tucked in, tie in place, skirt at the right length, and her sweater vest clean and pressed. Scorpius' pants were riding a little too low, and his shirt looked a tad wrinkled. On top of that it was also untucked, the top two buttons were undone, and his tie was loose and crooked. Rose's hair, probably sustained with magical hair products (a combination of Weasley and Granger hair must be a nightmare to manage, McGonagall assumed), was neat and orderly and flowed past her shoulders elegantly, while Scorpius' platinum blond mess went up and out in every possible direction.

"Erm," Mumbled McGonagall, who finally snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, yes. Since you two are this year's Head Boy and Girl you are responsible for setting up the prefect common room. As you know, the prefect common room is upstairs in the far east tower. It is Hogwarts tradition for the Head Boy and Girl to prepare the prefect common room. Since you two are on spare for the next…oh I'd say forty-five minutes or so-oh well I guess you can cut into your lunch period as well-you can use this time to do so. At the end of your spare, I will come by to check in on your progress. Do I make myself clear?"

Rose and Scorpius nodded in unison, indicating that they understood what they had to do. Inside Scorpius felt like rolling over and vomiting out of every orifice in his body, but at the same time he could not help but feel like an onslaught of fireworks was exploding at the pit of his stomach. The least thing he wanted to do right now was to spend time with the Weasley girl, but another part of him did not seem to agree.

"Alright, I am heading back to my office now. Get to work immediately-oh, and Mister Malfoy, your father _never _looked like that when he was in school, as your grandfather. Have you at least considered the advantages of a Hair Straightening Charm? Those Muggle combs actually do work wonders too." McGonagall suggested, her lips thinning into a disappointed frown. She stood still for another minute, staring at Scorpius' disheveled appearance, and then trotted off to her office. Scorpius looked down at himself, rolling his eyes, ignoring Rose's giggling.

"Oh shut up, won't you? She said we have work to do." He muttered, patting the back of his head. His hair smoothed out for a few seconds, then jutted straight out again like silvery javelins. Rose doubled over in laughter.

"Looks like we've got another Potter fan." She said with a wink.

--

The prefect common room was larger than the Gryffindor common room, but it did not look like much at first, since all of the furniture and decorations were always taken down at the end of every year. The Head Boy and Girl of every school year always had the responsibility of decorating the common room to their preferences, and for the two years that Rose was prefect, it was always different. In her fifth year it had an underwater theme, and the walls and the ceiling were made to look as if they were under the Atlantic Ocean. In her sixth, the room was made to look like a night sky, covered in different constellations.

Right now, however, the prefect common room was nothing but a large, spacious room with tall windows overlooking the grounds and a dead fireplace on the wall to the left. Rose could hear Scorpius' footsteps beside her, examining the room as closely as she was. He was made prefect in both his fifth and sixth year as well; probably because of his father. She could not draw up to any other conclusion.

But then again, he was right under her when it came to academics. He was a prat, but a bright prat at that, she had to admit, with an ego the size of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang mashed together…

"What do you suppose we can do to this place?" Rose asked, though she was not expecting much of an answer. Scorpius was running an index finger over one of the walls, thoroughly disgusted with the fact that the house elves did not keep up with the place after the previous year had ended. Rose rolled her eyes and strode over to the centre of the room, looking around her.

"It's only a little dust, Scorpius. Unless you're allergic to it then I don't see what the harm is, besides the fact that it's unattractive of course." She said, eyeing the fireplace. She reckoned that the old creaky mantle could use a bit of re-polishing.

"I don't want any of your pansy ideas dampening my spirits, Weasley. Think about the other prefects when they come in here to use this room. Try to be considerate." He said, completely ignoring her previous statement. She whirled around to see that he was facing her, smirking with his arms crossed and his back against the dusty stone wall. The sun from the windows was pouring in, shining on the both of them. She noticed how his hair looked almost white under the light.

"Excuse me?" She started, taking a step closer. Scorpius' sneer only widened. "_Pansy _ideas, did you say? Where in the world did you draw that conclusion from? I didn't even suggest anything yet!"

He laughed, a low rumble in his chest, and it pushed every one of her buttons.

"I don't need to hear you talk, Weasley. I already know what you want to do with this rubbish room just by looking at you." His slate grey eyes stared straight into her blue ones, and she could not help but feel vulnerable under them. That was the thing about those dratty Malfoys; they surely knew how to stare someone down.

"Oh really? I'd like to hear a few of my ideas then." She recomposed herself and stood up straight, placing her hands on her hips. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making the sides stick up. She giggled, and when he noticed her doing do, he immediately flattened his hair back down, though it still remained in its 'casual disarray'.

"You're a bookworm, Weasley. You love reading. You love _school_. You like to learn, for Merlin's sake. You probably can't think of anywhere else to be right now but here in this bloody castle." He said, raising his hands as he spoke. Rose felt her ears and her cheeks burn. The infamous Weasley Blush began to take its hold on her.

_Wow, he sure knows how to read you._

"Erm, and your point is?" She asked defiantly, putting her weight on one leg so her hip swung out a little. Scorpius chortled and turned his head towards one of the windows.

"You probably want to turn this place into some sort of-I dunno- _library_, or something. Something _nobody_ wants to have!" He exclaimed without looking at her. Rose raised an eyebrow. After thinking about it, turning the place into a library did not sound like a bad idea after all.

"Well, it's not like this is our real common room. This is just a place we come to when we need somewhere to study, that's all. Don't you think a library would be good for that?" She shot back. His head turned slowly towards her, his trademark smirk visible. Oh, how she _hated _that smirk.

"Last time I checked, Hogwarts already has a library." He said casually. Rose sighed and moved towards the fireplace, resting her hand on the mantle. The wood lost its varnish and it was incredibly dusty. It probably was a great fireplace sometime ago, when it did not need magic to make it look nice every now and then.

"Alright, since you think that my apparent library idea is rubbish, then what do you suppose this room should look like then, if you think you're so keen on interior decoration?" She asked. Scorpius did not say anything. Instead he reached behind him, and brandished his wand. She knew it was not safe to keep your wand tucked into your back pocket, or the waistband of your pants, but she decided not to mention that in case he did not know. He aimed for the farthest wall, and a shot of green light emitted from the tip of his wand. Rose watched intently for the room to transform.

Forest green rugs fluttered lightly in mid-air before settling on the dusty floor. Squashy looking green armchairs rested atop the rugs. Soon, tables and lamps were added to complete the look. Smirking slightly, Scorpius aimed at the wall again. This time, a large green banner was streaming out from his wand like water, and it unfolded and flattened itself against the wall, smack in the centre. Once Rose figured out what the banner was, she shoved her hand under her sweater vest, searching for her wand.

"You know, it's not safe to put your wand under your shirt. It could accidentally go off." Scorpius warned, half-amused. Rose cursed under her breath and aimed for the large Slytherin banner. The snake was slithering around its green space, hissing every now and then.

"What do you think you're doing?" She cried out in frustration. The snake eyed her with liquid black eyes, hissing in contempt. "This isn't an extension to the Slytherin common room!" With a flash of light the green furniture disappeared. Scorpius frowned, disappointed that all of his hard work had gone to waste. Rose first muttered a Dusting Charm, ridding the room of the irritating . She then tapped fireplace with her wand and in an instant the mantle looked shiny and new, and there was a roaring fire crackling underneath. She aimed towards the ceiling, and drapes of gold, green, scarlet, and navy swooped over and under, covering the stone above. Rose tapped the wall closest to her, and row after row of bookshelves conjured out of thin air and organized themselves against the wall. She then proceeded to the other walls, adding bulletin and notice boards, picture frames, and more colourful velvet drapes. In the centre of the room she placed a plush earthy coloured rug and a group of matching leather armchairs and sofas, along with some tables and chairs scattered around for individual study. When she was certain she was finished, Rose took a step backward to admire her work. Scorpius merely rolled his eyes.

"So, what do you think? Does this shout 'house equality' or what? McGonagall will love it." She said victoriously with her hands on her hips. Scorpius moved to sit on one of the brown leather armchairs. She could tell that he was satisfied with how comfortable the chair was, but he did not want to admit to it. Smiling, she turned around to adjust one of the picture frames, which looked a little lopsided.

Just then, the wooden door swung open and McGonagall strode inside. She looked as stern as ever, but when she took notice of the redecorated room, her expression brightened up considerably.

"Well done, you two. I'm surprised you were able to work something out. I know you have a little bit of a _history_, but clearly events of the past do not always affect the course of the future." McGonagall said plainly, though the flat tone in her voice usually meant she was satisfied. Scorpius was grumbling incoherently, while Rose was beaming like she just entered Honeydukes for the first time.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall!" She exclaimed cheerfully. Behind her, Scorpius rolled his eyes for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day and made a face. McGonagall noticed this and scowled at him, and he immediately straighened up.

"You two may proceed to the Great Hall for lunch now." She said, and abruptly left the prefect common room. Rose spun around to face Scorpius, who was sitting quietly.

"Did you really think you were going to pull off that whole Slytherin theme thing? C'mon Scorpius, I know you're smarter than that." She winked and tossed her hair over her shoulder before following McGonagall out of the common room, feeling like she just defeated Voldemort.

_Rose: 1, Scorpius: 0._


	4. Potions

**Potions**

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_ The first few weeks back have been great! With October rolling around, the weather's getting a little colder. How is it back in London? Is Ollie doing okay?_

_Sorry for not being able to reply to your letter sooner, and I'm pretty sure everyone else already wrote back to you before I had the chance. I'm just so busy with work and Head duty-by the way, did Jane or anyone else mention that Scorpius Malfoy ended up being Head Boy? If I had known beforehand I would've given my badge to someone else. That boy...he is something, I'm telling you-and don't worry Dad, when I say 'something', I mean something in the negative. He's just __everywhere__, and I can't seem to avoid him. No matter what corner I turn, he's always in the background somewhere, and I have to admit that it kind of creeps me out. He's like an annoying little fly, constantly buzzing in my ear or something. Whenever he has something to say, it's always in this sarcastic, I'm-a-god-and-you're-rubbish kind of tone, and it just gets on my nerves! I could write roll after roll about how much he irritates me, but I know there are more important things to talk about than a pompous Malfoy._

_So I'm pretty sure you've heard this from him already, but Randy has made Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, and I'm almost certain Dad is proud. I know he's been yearning for at least one Quidditch player in the family (actually we have three; Jane and I just aren't the type), and to have a son on the team must give him some sort of bragging right at work, especially since he was on the team himself. A lot of the other Gryffindors have been complaining about how the majority of the team is comprised of our family though, and they find it unfair. The lot of them are calling the team 'The Weasley/Potter Quidditch Team' instead of Gryffindor. It was a little irritating in the beginning, but it became more of a compliment with the passing days. Albus says that he thinks young Roxanne has got what it takes to be the next Seeker after him. I caught a glimpse of her during her first flying lesson; she was a natural._

_Anyways, I don't want to be keeping anyone, and Randy's bothering me about his Charms homework, so I have to go. I promise to write a longer letter next time! Hope you're doing both well and that the holidays will come soon!_

_Love,_

_ Rose_

Hermione rolled up the letter, a small smile etched on her wise features. Ron, on the other hand, looked as if he had gotten a hit to the face with a Bludger. The couple was sitting in their living room. They had just received a letter from Rose, who did not get the chance to reply to the letter they sent to her a week ago.

"_Malfoy?_" He spluttered, snatching the parchment from his wife's hands and unraveling it to reread what his eldest daughter wrote. "_Scorpius Malfoy_ is Head Boy? Bloody he-Hogwarts has definitely gone downhill after we left."

"Ron, you technically didn't even graduate. You and Harry didn't bother to return for a seventh year." Hermione pointed out. Ron peered up from the letter to make a face at her.

"Not the point. Y'see, Rosie's supposed to be _better_-"

"You know she is, Ron. She's been at the top of every class since first year."

"Yes, but look what's happened now. Malfoy thinks his son can suddenly take a jump to first place by pulling a few strings and-"

"How do you know Draco _pulled strings_ for Scorpius? From what I heard, he's pretty smart himself, in fact he's competing with Rose in a few of their classes." Hermione interjected once again. Ron sighed and bent over to pick up Ollie, who was purring by his feet. Ollivander, or Ollie for short, was one of Crookshanks' kittens. Mr. Ollivander had a few stray cats who always lurked around the back of his store, and Crookshanks was hanging around with one of them one day. Rose and Hugo, who were thirteen and eleven at the time, spotted him and his new feline friend, and decided to take the both of them home. They named their new cat Tuffles, after the way her tail tufted at the end, and the rest was history. Ollie was named after Mr. Ollivander of course, and he had orange fur, like his father, but he did not have the bandy legs or the squashed face. He merely looked like a regular orange tabby, but he still had the attributes of a Kneazle, despite the fact that he was only one eighth.

"Well how else could Scorpius possibly get the title of Head Boy? It's just a typical Malfoy thing to do, Hermione-when you can't get what you want, beg Daddy to do the dirty work for you." Ron muttered as he scratched in between Ollie's ears. Ollie looked up at Ron questionably for a second, and then pounced out of his lap, straight into Hermione's. Ron looked shocked, and if you squinted, maybe even a little hurt.

"See, Ollie agrees with me. Scorpius _earned_ the right to be appointed Head Boy. I don't think he's as bad as you assume. You've seen him over the years. He doesn't look like he takes on after his father as much as he used to."

"What exactly are you implying here?" Ron asked suspiciously, leaning forward from his spot the couch to take a better look at his wife's face, just in case she was hiding anything. Hermione shook her head dismissively and leaned back against her armchair. Ollie yawned, his tail curling around him.

"I'm not implying anything. All I'm saying is that Scorpius is probably a better person than you think he is." She replied simply. Ollie meowed as if to agree with her, and Ron threw his hands up in defeat.

"Great, that's two against one. Why doesn't anybody take my side? Where are Harry and Ginny when I need them…" He grumbled, trailing off into a string of incoherent speech. Hermione laughed and let the letter drop from her hands. Ollie pounced on it, playing with the parchment first, but then stood still once it touched the floor, as if he was reading it. Hermione rose from her seat and started to make her way upstairs.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ron called after her.

"I'm going to reply to Rose's letter, of course. Can't you see that Icarus is waiting?"

The great tawny owl sitting by the fireplace was hooting contently, happy to see his master's parents. Ron tossed him an owl treat.

"Make sure to give Rosie my greetings." He said softly, and then added in a much lower voice, "And add that I'll personally wring that Malfoy boy's neck if he does anything to her."

--

Scorpius stabbed at his eggs with quick, sharp movements. Porter, Princeton, Vincent, and Holden stared at him in stunned silence. He had been in a foul mood for the past week, and he had not bothered to tell any of them why.

"Erm, so what class do we have first today?" Porter asked loudly in an attempt to divert everyone's attention away from the moody Malfoy. Princeton hastily reached into his bag for his schedule.

"Uh, you, Zabini, Malfoy, and I have Potions first period." He replied in his throaty voice. Vincent, the younger Goyle by one year, listened intently as he shoved his toast into his mouth with sausage-like fingers. Scorpius grunted and pushed his plate away, losing his appetite. He did not even bother to acknowledge the fact that Tatia Schultz had been eyeing him hopefully for the past twenty minutes from the other side of the table, though he was well aware that she was doing so.

_Blasted Weasley._

His slate grey eyes shifted over to the Gryffindor table on the other side of the hall. She was sitting with Potter and a few of their dorky Gryffindor friends. Her siblings and relatives sat close by and they took up literally a quarter of the table. Her back was turned to him but he still recognized her. He knew exactly how her unique bronze coloured hair waved out from the back, curling slightly at the end at her shoulder blades, and the way-

"Malfoy?"

Scorpius inhaled loudly and clamped his eyes shut in an effort to control himself. He mentally counted to ten before reopening his eyes.

"_What_?" He spat, glaring at Porter, who looked as if he was punched in the back of the head.

"U-um, class is gonna start soon-"

"Let's go." Scorpius left his seat, hoisting his bag over his shoulder at the same time. He took a quick peek over at the Gryffindor table one last time, only to find out that she already left for class. For some reason, he felt disappointed, though he knew he was going to see her in a few minutes.

"Notice how he only goes early to the classes Rose is in?" He heard Porter whisper to Holden. This time he really was punched in the back of the head.

--

"So you finally got the chance to write to your parents the other night?" Lorcan asked Rose as they made their way to their first class, Potions. The sun strayed further away from their small group as they made their way downstairs into the dungeons. Rose nodded slowly as they descended the stone steps.

"Yep-Icarus seemed happy to have finally gotten the chance to get some air. Probably missed my dad too." She replied lightly. They turned a sharp corner, and the lighting dramatically darkened. It took a few minutes for their eyes to adjust.

"Oh, I was in the prefects' common room the other night. Brilliant job, you did. Good thing to teach Malfoy some respect." Albus grinned while giving her the thumbs up.

"Wha-? What happened?" Lisa Longbottom asked.

"You prefects and Heads have a common room to yourself? If I knew, I would've been a better student…" Thomas Finnigan muttered. Rose laughed, recalling the day when she and Scorpius Malfoy were instructed to redecorate the prefects' common room for the year. She retold the story for Lisa and Thomas, with Lorcan and Albus laughing along since they heard the story already. Rose never got over the fact how childish Scorpius was acting that day. How could he possibly think that he could get away with decorating the entire common room with Slytherin-themed furniture?

As soon as Rose and her accompanying two prefects finished retelling the story, they arrived at their designated classroom, which was a dingy old dungeon at the very end of a dank hallway. They opened the large heavy wooden door and were welcomed by an unpleasant damp smell, like the outdoors after a rainstorm. The classroom was windowless, and the tables were cramped together. Some of the storage cabinets were missing doors. Professor Slughorn was standing by the blackboard, looking as jolly as ever.

"Hello, hello! On time as usual." He greeted with a broad smile. Rose smiled back and proceeded to stand behind a table with Albus, Lisa, Lorcan, and Thomas. The rest of the class came in seconds later, including Scorpius Malfoy, Princeton Goyle, Porter Parkinson, and Holden Zabini. Rose noticed how exceptionally sore Scorpius has been looking the past week. During Head duty he hardly spoke to her, or even dared to look at her face, though every once in awhile when she was not looking she could feel him stealing a glance or two.

After waiting a minute or two for the latecomers, Slughorn waved his wand towards the door, closing and locking it.

"Good morning everyone!" Slughorn shouted, raising his hands.

"Good morning Professor Slughorn." The class replied sleepily. Slughorn raised a thick eyebrow.

"Hm, long night for the lot of you? Let's try that again shall we? Good morning everyone!"

"Good morning Professor Slughorn." The class mumbled again with just a hint of a little more enthusiasm. Slughorn shrugged his shoulders.

"Guess I can't get anymore out of you. Does everyone have their cauldrons and necessary equipment out? Alright, alright-Mister Goyle, stop playing with your knife, it is not a plaything-okay, I think we are ready to start." He turned his wide back towards the class for a moment and tapped the blackboard with his wand. A series of complicated looking diagrams and notes appeared on the board. The moment they appeared, Rose brandished her quill and parchment and began to copy them down. She was about a paragraph in when the rest of the class began to follow suit.

_Veritaserum…_

"Does anyone know what Veritaserum is?" Professor Slughorn asked. Rose's hand shot in the air exactly two seconds before Scorpius' did. She felt his glare on her shoulder blades and she could not help but smirk to herself. Slughorn's head turned towards Rose.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"Veritaserum is the most powerful truth serum available. It's odourless and colourless, so it can be mistaken for water. It is said to be so powerful that just three drops can make the drinker tell his or her innermost secrets." She recited, her eyes looking upwards like they usually did whenever she was trying to remember something. Slughorn clapped his hands together in delight.

"It's like I'm asking the textbook itself. Five points for Gryffindor. What Miss Weasley just explained is correct. Veritaserum is a truth serum, and a very powerful one at that. It is also very difficult to make. Does anybody have an idea why?" Slughorn searched the students for any hopefuls. Rose's hand came up again. Scorpius was always just a split second too late.

"Miss Weasley?"

"Veritaserum requires a full moon-cycle to mature while it is being made, which simply means that it takes at least one month to make the potion." She explained. Scorpius' eyes were still on her back, and she frankly did not care if they stayed there for the remainder for the class. Slughorn's smile broadened.

"You're definitely your mother's daughter. Another five points for Gryffindor (Thomas hissed an audible "Yes!"). Veritaserum is in fact so difficult to make that it takes one month to create, and the instructions to make it are so abstract that it might be difficult for one just one person to do it. As you might have already figured out, your assignment is to create the Veritaserum, and I am going to assign you a partner. Over the month you will be creating this potion, while writing a report documenting your observations. Once I pair you up, you can start on your potion. The instructions are on page 362 in your textbooks. Do I make myself clear?"

The class groaned in unison, disappointed that they were unable to choose their own partners, but they nodded nonetheless. Rose suddenly felt sick. She did not have a good feeling about this.

"Albus Potter, you will be paired up with...hmm…let's try you with Mina Chang (Albus turned a furious shade of scarlet and proceeded to move to her table). Logan McLaggen will be paired with Theodore Flint. Rose Weasley-let's put you with somebody who's been keeping up with you-Scorpius Malfoy, gather your things and move beside her please. Lusha Patil, you can partner up with Carleigh Brown..."

Rose had the urge to grab her textbook and smack herself in the forehead with it until she gave herself a concussion. She knew this was going to happen. It happened in almost every class. Every teacher paired them together because they were the only ones that were going at the same pace with each other.

"First forced paired assignment of the year. Let's make it short and sweet, Weasley." Scorpius said flatly as he slammed his equipment on the creaky wooden table.

"I'll try, Malfoy. Don't slow things down for the both of us." She grumbled as she opened her textbook to the assigned page. She trailed down the text with her index finger until she found what she was looking for. Out of the corner of the eye she could see Scorpius leaving, probably to get one of the ingredients. Before he went out of earshot he looked over his shoulder to face her. He was wearing that crooked smile, that stupid smirk she loathed so much.

"_Me_ slowing _us_ down? We'll see about that, Weasley." He said in a sinister voice. Rose rolled her eyes and continued to skim through the textbook. She knew Malfoys were full of nothing but empty threats. She had absolutely nothing to worry about.

--

_A/N: Did this chapter answer your question, earthtomars7? : )_

_I'll try to elaborate on friends in later chapters, if I remember._


	5. Duty Calls

_A/N: Okay, I give up on trying to fix my school slip-ups. Every time I think I've corrected something, a new problem pops out of nowhere and it just gets me frustrated, so I won't bother from this point on. Sorry. Anyways, on with the show._

_Hmm...do I sense plot development?_

**Duty Calls**

"Ow! Bloody hell-"

It was close to curfew, and the two Heads were seated in the redecorated common room, working on the Veritaserum assignment they were forced to do together. Rose had been running her fingers through her thick hair and she caught onto a tight knot, yanking on her hair a little too hard. Scorpius snorted but did not dare to look up from his textbook but out of the corner of his eye he could see his Gryffindor partner giving him a pointed sapphire stare.

_She looks kind of cute when she's all worked up like that._

_...What did I just say?_

He mentally slapped himself and shook his head violently, as if doing so would make the weird thoughts go away. Rose raised an eyebrow at his odd behaviour.

"Are you actually reading over there, or are you too busy having a conversation with yourself?" She asked contemptuously, and he shook his head no, though he was a little shocked at the fact that she somehow knew he was kind of having a conversation with himself. He peered at the seething cauldron sitting in between them, which was emitting a greenish vapour. It was bubbling a muddy grey colour, similar to bad Polyjuice Potion. He scrunched his nose and leaned back in his chair.

"Is it supposed to look like that?" He asked, jerking his messy blond head towards the cauldron. Rose rolled her brilliant eyes and pointed towards a paragraph in the textbook.

"We still haven't added a few of the ingredients yet, so of course it's going to look unattractive. You need to chop up those spider legs into a fine dust-" She nodded towards a pile of bottles beside the cauldron, looking a little repulsed at her own mention of the word 'spider'. "-While I get to work with the newt eyes."

Scorpius reached to grab the small bottle full of what looked like bent black pipe cleaners. He unstoppered it and turned it upside down so that the spindly dismembered legs slid out and onto his cutting board. Rose looked as if she were going to kneel over and vomit at any moment. Slightly amused, Scorpius plucked his silver knife out of his bag of Potions equipment and immediately began to chop the spider legs. His hands were moving so quickly they almost looked blurred.

"Spiders. Urgh." He heard her grumble, and she reached for the bottle of newt eyes. A moment of silence elapsed over them, and before Scorpius knew it he was staring at a reasonable pile of black dust, neatly piled on the centre of the cutting board. He reached for his textbook, ready to do what it instructed him to, but then he came across something else.

He expected to feel the worn, hard cover of his Potions textbook, but his fingers were brushing against something soft, warm, _alive_. He blinked twice and his eyes shot over to where his hand was, and at that moment he knew he stopped breathing because his chest felt like it was going to cave inwards. Rose had finished separating the good eyes from the bad ones, and she was going to reach for his textbook to read up on what to do next. They probably finished at the same time because there was no other reason to explain why they were touching hands, their fingers almost laced together. Rose's eyes were wide and her jaw was slack. Scorpius immediately drew his hand away, as if he were burned by her touch.

"Erm-" She started nervously, her eyes towards his textbook, but they seemed to be quivering, as if she was trying to restrain herself from looking directly at him. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her ears were coloured to match. The blush on her face made the very faint, very small group of freckles on the bridge of her nose slightly prominent. He cleared his throat loudly, hoping to somehow drain the awkwardness away, and he lightly pushed his textbook in her direction, careful not to topple over the bottles or the cauldron.

"Right, so, um, now that we're done doing what we're supposed to be doing-" For some reason that sounded all wrong and he regretted saying it the moment it came out of his mouth. "-Uh, why don't you read what we're supposed to do next, since you finished first-I mean, finished at the same time as me but you were gonna get the book anyway..."

He swore he saw the faintest trail of a smile at the corner of her lips as she opened his textbook. His throat no longer felt constricted and he eased up a little, slouching against the back of his chair. He waited until she was finished reading.

_You're an idiot, a complete idiot-_

_It's not like I intended to reach for her-_

"U-um, it says we put in the newt eyes before the spider leg dust." She said in an unnaturally high voice, breaking him free of his disdainful conscience. He nodded and waited for her to scoop up the bad newt eyes back into the bottle. She then proceeded to dump the good ones into the cauldron. She nodded towards his cutting board, and he raised it over the cauldron and tipped it a little so that the dust would fall in. The instant the last speck of spider leg dust hit the boiling, thick liquid, the immature Veritaserum changed colour, and thankfully, the odour changed as well. It morphed from its murky grey to a brilliant blue (but of course, it wasn't as brilliant as a certain Gryffindor girl's eyes, he couldn't help but take notice), as blue as the colours of Ravenclaw, and there was a silvery vapour emitting from it. The smoke was twisting and twirling high into the ceiling, forming all sorts of intricate, eye-catching little patterns. It smelled a little like pine trees and evergreen.

"There, much better." Rose said, her voice back to its normal pitch. "It's curfew now, which means that you and I have to go on duty. Pack up."

As much as he wanted to retort at her for ordering him around, he kept his mouth shut and did as he was told. Rose rapped her wand against her cauldron once; it disappeared. Scorpius plucked his Head Boy badge from his bag and pinned it to the front of his robes; he hated wearing the dratty thing around the school. It made him feel like a typical snobbish, fat-headed Malfoy, the very thing he was trying to avoid.

"Why do you always take that thing off whenever we're not on duty? You know you're supposed to keep it on-" Rose started exasperatingly, as if it were not the first time she had to bring this up, and it certainly was not. He cut in before she had the chance to complete her sentence.

"At all times, I know, but…" He hesitated for a moment, and then opened the wooden door. "You take the left, I'll take right. We'll meet at the entrance to the Great Hall, and we'll figure out where to go from there."

He heard her sigh in defeat and she walked off, disappearing around the corner. He wanted to tell her why, but he was sure she would not understand. He had too much going against him, since the day he was born. He could not stand up against the rest of the wizarding world and say that he did not want to follow in his father's, or grandfather's footsteps; nobody would believe him. In the beginning he thought he wanted to, he thought it was something he was destined to become, but now he realized that he was in control of his own fate, his own future, and he did not want to be what everyone else thought he was. He did not want to be known as the son of a man who caused Harry Potter grief in their school days, or the grandson of a loyal Death Eater.

_"This is your last year, boy. You better make this count." _Draco's words were burned into his brain.

_"Stand proud, Scorpius. You are a Malfoy, and Malfoys do not show weakness or vulnerability. Do not let that Potter boy or that Weasley girl get in your way of achieving greatness." _Lucius' drawling voice filled Scorpius' ears, and he clamped his grey eyes shut.

_No more, I have _nothing _to do with the lot of you. _He thought acidly. His father and grandfather's voices suddenly became muffled, as if he put on a set of earmuffs. In due time, they faded away. He opened his eyes again, relieved at the fact that he won today's inner quarrel.

He quietly closed the door behind him and set out on his long walk down the stairs to the Great Hall.

--

Scorpius Malfoy surely was a mystery to Rose, as irritating as he was.

He was the son of a coward, the grandson of one of Voldemort's most loyal servants. There was nothing but filth to his name, another infected branch added to the twisted plant that was the Malfoy family tree. Everyone had a disdain for him, for his family. She was not surprised when she found out from her mother that it was Scorpius' father, Draco Malfoy, who gave her parents and her uncle much grief during their school days.

"Mudblood." Rose spat as she thundered down the corridors, her grip on her wand so tight it seemed almost capable of snapping in two. The foul word ripped itself out of her mouth, scathing her tongue. It was the very word Draco used on her mother back in their school days, the simple but hurtful derogatory term for Muggle-born wizards and witches. She brightened up at the image of her mother slapping Draco full on the face. At least he got what he deserved. And then there was that ferret story Hermione told her about. Rose stifled a giggle as she made her way down the stairs. If only she had the chance to do something like that to Scorpius…

She felt a little remorse for him sometimes, even though she hated to admit it. The minute he was born everyone expected him to be like his father and his grandfather; head held up a little too high, self-absorbed, keen on picking on Muggle-borns and blood traitors. When the time came for him to start school, everyone's assumptions proved to be true. In the beginning she saw all of those attributes in him, even going as far as looking nearly exactly like Draco and Lucius, with his white-blond hair slicked back and his cold grey eyes intimidating and alluring at the same time. He ridiculed her and her family for years, poking in the softest of places, raising points about her mother and her Muggle lineage, her father and his known title as the blundering, overshadowed sidekick to the famous Harry Potter…

But in the recent years, she could not help but notice a slight, subtle change in him, as if he was hit in the head and it erased most, if not all, of the Malfoy-esque thoughts away. He hated being compared to his father and grandfather, which was unfortunately something he had to face nearly everyday at school, and probably outside of school too. He no longer raised points about Mudbloods or blood traitors; in fact she noticed that he kind of bristled whenever someone mentioned them. His hair was now that out of control mess she slowly became accustomed to, and had actually grown to like, but his eyes were still piercing, intriguing. She figured it was a trait he would never be able to stray away from, and secretly she wished he would never do so.

She was confused as to what might have caused him to change his point of view, from a calloused, vindictive, stereotypical Malfoy, to...someone different. She could not put a finger on a good enough description.

Rose rounded another corner and it suddenly felt warmer; the air near the Great Hall always felt inviting, comforting. She rested her back against one of the tall doors and waited patiently for him, basking in the warmth. The arrival of October only dropped the castle at least ten more degrees, which did not make patrol any more enjoyable.

Out of the darkness, a figure was stirring, moving towards her. A little worried, she raised her vinewood wand just in case, but when Scorpius Malfoy stepped out from the shadows she relaxed and dropped her arm. He looked tired and disappointed; he was frowning and his eyes were flashing with unreadable emotion. His hair looked like it was flickering, but it was just the fire from the torches that lined the walls. He looked up and noticed her by the doors to the Great Hall, and his expression changed.

"How did you get here sooner? I swear I had the shorter way." He spluttered, evidently surprised. Rose rolled her eyes and stood up straight. As different as he seemed from when they first met nearly seven years ago, his boyish obliviousness to most things still rang clear.

"Giving me the longer way so you can do less work? Very noble of you, Malfoy." She snorted. His slate grey eyes were shifting around them, probably mapping out the rest of their patrol route.

"Fine. You take this floor, I'll do the dungeons. Is that _noble_ enough for you? Bloody Gryffindors and their nobility emphasis. Rubbish." He muttered angrily. Not wanting to argue in case McGonagall came storming around the corner to lecture them, Rose nodded and began to walk towards one of the corridors.

"As if cunning and...whatever else Slytherins have are any better than nobility. Besides, I don't think you're very cunning at all. If you truly were, then you would have thought of a better decorating idea for the prefects' common room." She said casually before striding off into the night. In the faint distance she could hear Scorpius' protesting voice, but she did not bother to hear him. A victorious smile stretched over her pretty features as she walked down the corridor, feeling a little tired but satisfied with herself nonetheless. She kind of liked it when he was all worked up like that.


	6. Jealousy and Quidditch

_A/N: Yay, early update._

_I had a stint of creativity and I just couldn't contain myself. A tad longer than usual, but I expect that's something you would enjoy, right?_

**Jealousy and Quidditch**

Scorpius could not sleep that night. He felt bothered, disturbed. He was twisting around uncomfortably in his bed, muttering incoherently. It was a good thing Princeton and Porter were loud snorers. Holden was fast asleep, but it was probably the loud snoring that averted him from waking up and noticing the restless Slytherin writhing around in his bed as if he were being attacked by invisible forces.

In an instant Scorpius bolted straight up from bed, his mercury grey eyes wide and flashing and his body drenched in sweat. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, a little damp from perspiration, and he swung his long legs over the side of his bed. Clad in only a pair of grey boxers and a white t-shirt, he slid a robe over his muscled, but shaking form and quietly crept out of his dormitory.

The Slytherin common room was as dark and green as it ever was. He strode over to the elaborately carved fireplace and plopped down on a green armchair, closing his eyes. His heart was beating rapidly to the point where he thought it was going to burst out of his ribcage.

He had that dream again.

No matter how many times he has had it, the dream always remained the same. He would always be roaming around the hallways of Hogwarts late at night for some reason. He was always wearing his school robes, which probably indicated he was on patrol or something. After a few minutes of wandering he would always stop by an old wooden door. He would be in a hallway he did not recognize; possibly one of those forbidden places of the schools that was heavily guarded with advanced magic. He would open the door, and he would see a dark room with nothing in it but a large, odd looking mirror in the centre. For some reason it looked familiar to him, as if he had come across it before, but he wracked his memory countless times and did not recall a tall, dusty mirror.

His curiosity would always take over and he would slowly make his way towards the mirror, his ebony wand clutched tightly in his hand. He would always think that it was some kind of trap, that somebody would spring out of the darkness and hex him, but nobody ever came. He would always stop in front of the mirror, staring at his own reflection as if it was something he had never seen before.

Then, as it always did whenever he had the dream, his father and grandfather would suddenly appear by his sides in the mirror; three generations of the Malfoy family were reflecting back at him. He would always look over his shoulder to see if they were there like they were in the reflection, but like always, he found himself completely and utterly alone. The thought filled him inside with a sad emptiness. They stared back at him with a cold demeanor etched in their eyes. Scorpius would always stare and marvel at how similar they resembled each other; though Lucius was a little taller than Draco and Scorpius (who were exactly the same height) and his eyes were a little smaller, all three of them sported the same platinum blond hair and harsh, grating metal grey stare.

Horror struck him and he would stumble backwards, toppling onto the floor. His reflection would not do the same. The three Malfoys would stare back, stock still, like an old Muggle family portrait. He would crawl back to the mirror on his hands and knees, his eyes glued on his standing reflection.

Then, Draco and Lucius would start to waver slightly, as if they were going to disappear. The first time Scorpius had this dream relief surged through him when this happened, but then the reflections of his father and grandfather would merge together, and then merge with his own reflection, and suddenly his mirror image did not look quite like him anymore.

From far away he probably would have mistook the reflection for his own, but from up close he could see that it was actually his father, Draco Malfoy, in his younger years, at his age. The teenage Draco looked almost exactly like him, just with a few minor differences: Draco's hair was neat and combed, his chin looked a little more pointed and he seemed to have a slightly smaller build than Scorpius; other than those qualities they could have been mistaken for twin brothers. In an instant the reflection of his young father would drop to his knees and get into the same desperate kneeling position Scorpius was in. No matter how many times he had the dream, this part always scared him the most.

He would move his hand; the reflection in the mirror would mimic him. He twiddled his fingers; the reflection did the same again. Scorpius would suck in a breath, noticing that the reflection of his teenage father would also do the same thing, and rose, standing on shaky legs. The reflection would always be smirking back at him, while his expression would probably be the exact opposite. Draco's smirk looked like a crooked smile, with one corner of his mouth upturned; Scorpius could not help but notice how even his smirk mirrored his.

_"You cannot escape," _Sneered his adolescent father, his eyes boring holes into his son's. _"This is what you are. This is what you will become. This is what you were born to be."_

"NO!"

Scorpius' eyes opened again, and he was in the Slytherin common room, sweating and uncomfortable. He always found himself retelling the events of the dream moments after he just had it, which probably was not a very good idea. The eerie green lamps hanging above his head cast an emerald light over him, and he felt better realizing that he was here instead of in that odd room with that stupid mirror.

_It's just a dream, you're not like him, not like him at all-_

_Well, not anymore._

He could hear the others rustling around in the dormitories; it must be morning then. He stood up, his knees feeling a little weak, and stumbled towards the stairs. He did not want Porter, Princeton, Vince, or Holden-clearly the smartest one of the four-to notice anything peculiar. He thought up of a good enough excuse as to why he was out of bed so early (he assumed that doing something concerning a certain Veritaserum assignment would suffice) and raced up the stairs, ready to start the day.

--

"Paff ve egfs, fill ya Wosie?"

Repulsed by her brother's poor eating habits, Rose quietly pushed the plate of sunny-side up eggs towards him, her other brother Randy (who had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire morning), and at least three of her other cousins. She had finished eating and was now poring over her Potions textbook, memorizing which ingredients she had to gather for tonight. Her and Scorpius planned to meet up later after supper to continue on their assignment. The due date was only a few weeks away now, and their potion was far from finished.

Unconsciously, she glanced over her shoulder to the other side of the Great Hall, where the Slytherins sat. Scorpius did not look very happy-in fact he looked kind of unwell. He looked a little paler than usual and there were prominent purple, bruise-like shadows under his piercing grey eyes. His head was propped up on his hand, looking haughty but very handsomely so, and like he was going to fall asleep any second.

She could not help but feel worried for him, and she had no idea why, but she whirled around to continue reading.

"I'm guessing you forgot what today is, Rosie?"

She glanced up at Albus, whose brilliant green eyes were staring back at her confused blue ones. She continued to blink wordlessly at him as he munched on a piece of toast.

"I haven't the slightest idea at what you're talking about, Al." She admitted sheepishly, and she felt her ears grow warm. She now felt like there was something missing, and she had no one else but Albus to blame. Albus frowned in disappointment and Lily lightly grazed Rose's shoulder with her fingertips.

"Today's the first Quidditch match of the year: Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Your brother's very first, real game!" Lily whispered, and Rose's deep blue eyes widened in shock. She looked at her youngest brother, who seemed a little hurt at the fact that his oldest sister did not remember.

"Some memory you have, sis. I thought you were supposed to be the smartest one of the bunch?" Hugo said, trying to ease the tension a little bit, but failed. Mandy nudged him in the ribs, silently telling him to be quiet. Jane threw a glare in his direction.

"Oh-Randy-I'm so sorry-" Rose started, remorse rising in her chest, but Randy shook his head and put on a wide smile reminiscent of their father's.

"S'not your fault Rose, I know you've been busy with stuff." He said softly, his voice barely audible. The pain she was feeling inside was overwhelming now; she felt the back of her eyes stinging.

"I _promise_ I will be at your game, Randy. No questions asked. Albus will make sure that I won't forget." She said firmly, her eyes sliding over to her cousin/best friend. Albus smiled and gave her the thumbs up.

"And I'll hex her to the moon and back if she forgets you have a game ever again." He winked at Randy and the younger boy nodded, his expression much lighter than it had been a few moments ago. Rose opened her mouth to give a smart reply to Albus' comment, but then the large doors to the Great Hall burst open and Carleigh Brown was running towards the Gryffindor table with a single sheet of parchment clutched tightly in her fist.

"They've posted it, they've posted it!" She cried eagerly as she laid the parchment flat against the table for everyone surrounding her to see. Students from other houses were looking at each other curiously, wondering what was going on. Rose stood up, her Head badge gleaming in the morning sunlight as she did so, and maneuvered her way through the small group of Gryffindors to see what all the fuss was about.

"What's going on?" She asked in the most authoritative tone she could muster; everyone looked up at her as if she had grown horns or a second head. Even her cousins and siblings were staring at her funny.

"What, did I miss something _again_?" Rose fumed, throwing her hands up in defeat. Being the supposed cleverest witch after her mother, it was kind of frustrating to see that she was forgetting very obvious things. She bent over the table to look at the parchment Carleigh was holding previously.

_"Attention students: this is a note regarding the upcoming Halloween Ball on the 31st of October. All students are invited to enjoy a festive evening of entertainment, dancing, and food on Halloween. Costumes are a must, and there will be a prize for the best one. The ball starts at 8 P.M. sharp." _Rose read aloud. The Gryffindors surrounding her, most of them girls, were murmuring in hushed, excited voices. She turned to look towards Albus, who shrugged his shoulders indifferently. He had a Quidditch game to worry about today; he could fret over the stupid ball later.

"Are you gonna go, Rosie?" Asked Dominique, who was previously talking to her friends about who she wanted to go with. Rose shrugged her shoulders, trying to look like she did not care, but inside she felt the complete opposite.

"I don't know-I might have to, being Head Girl and all...you know, duties and whatnot-"

She strode back to her seat in a sort of haze. She felt Albus' worried eyes sliding over her, but she pretended not to notice. As much as she hated dancing, the Halloween Ball was something else. It was one of the most anticipated events of the school year, and with most tradition, students often took dates.

With a painful stab, Rose solemnly remembered going alone to the Halloween Ball in her first four years of school. She did not even remember why she bothered going, probably at the insistence of her older cousins James, Fred, and Victoire, but after fourth year she decided that there really was no point in going when she was just going to keep going alone anyway. She skipped the dance in her fifth and sixth year, making up an excuse to her family, saying that she came down with some kind of illness or that she had a rather large assignment due the following day or something. Albus was probably the only one who saw past those lies; his stare narrowed as she closed her Potions textbook without saying a word.

"Trying to think up of another illness to feign, Rosie?" He asked casually as he followed her out of the Great Hall. Rose cast him a scathing look and he quickly apologized.

"Sorry-that was below the belt. I'm guessing you're not going then?" He asked with a little disappointment dripping from his voice. She felt guilt rising in her chest once again; she knew Albus would have enjoyed her company in the past two years he had gone to the Halloween Ball-unlike her, who had been unlucky with her love life, he has taken a different girl to the ball every year. Though he assumed they 'fancied' him just because of his famous father, she knew he was probably only saying that to make her feel better about herself. After all, who wanted to go to the ball with a bushy haired, buck toothed, book loving-

"Rose?" Albus' voice interrupted her depressing thoughts, and she shook them away. She gave him a vague smile and quickened her pace.

"C'mon Al, we've only got a few minutes before class. We're going to be late." She pressed on with fake irritation. Her cousin, her best friend, raised his eyebrows, knowing that this was all just a facade, but he played along and jogged to her side. She assumed that he decided that it was safe to drop the subject for now.

--

"Halloween Ball?" Scorpius spluttered as he smacked a hand to his forehead. How could he forget?

He had just finished Defence Against the Dark Arts and was now trudging towards his next class, Herbology (one of his least favourites) with Holden Zabini. He overheard a few Ravenclaws whispering about it during class and he almost forgotten all about it.

"How on earth could you forget, Malfoy?" Holden asked, a perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. "Your birthday, Halloween, and the ball are _always _on the same day."

Scorpius cursed under his breath as they exited the school, walking towards the greenhouses. The cold October air stung his cheeks and he nestled against his green and silver scarf, seeking warmth. Ironically his birthday was on the 31st of October, Halloween, the day Harry Potter's parents were killed by Lord Voldemort. A lot of speculation rose the day he was born; some former Death Eaters were enthralled by this and they thought this was a sign from the Dark Lord himself, probably assuming that Scorpius was a reincarnation of him or whatever. He scoffed at the thought.

"Yeah well, I have more important things to think about at the moment than the stupid ball." Scorpius spat as they continued their walk. Holden shook his head.

"Should be easy enough for you to find a date-you always managed to in the previous years. Why don't you take Tatia for once? You know she's fancied you since she transferred here." The darker boy suggested. Scorpius bristled at the mention of the brunette's name; for some reason he could not tolerate her at the moment.

"I don't know. We'll see. We have a Quidditch game to win today, and that's the only thing I'm focused on at the moment." He said as he pushed the door to the greenhouse open; half of the class was already present. Professor Longbottom was standing patiently at the front, a shy smile on his aged features. After a moment, the entire class seemed to be present, and he began the lesson.

"Good morning class," He said, raising his arms in greeting. The class greeted back sleepily, and then the man proceeded on with a lecture on Devil's Snare, or something related to it, Scorpius was too tired to pay much attention. He figured it would be easy to catch up on anyway. Tatia Schultz, who tactfully managed to sit beside him today, was flipping her textbook to a certain page, and he followed suit. There seemed to be only enough space in his mind for his odd dream, and of course, the upcoming Quidditch match.

His eyes slid over to the distant left, far down the table scattered with pots and other useful gardening tools, and he caught a glimpse of bronze. Rose was carefully studying her Herbology textbook, Potter and that Ravenclaw prefect Lycan sitting faithfully by her sides. Her bronze hair looked scarlet once again as the sun shone through the greenhouse and onto the table; he was glad it grew out of its bushy state as they grew older. She was wearing her usual concentrated expression, with the furrowed eyebrows and the slight frown. Potter leaned over to poke her in the shoulder, and she glanced up at him. They were talking animatedly in hushed voices for a moment, and then she flashed a toothy grin. Scorpius noticed how her teeth did not look so big for her face anymore-in fact they were all pearly white, even, and reasonably sized.

"Scorpius," Tatia's warning voice hissed in his ear, and he bolted straight up from his seat.

"Mister Malfoy? I called on you twice." Professor Longbottom said with a frown, and the class laughed quietly. Scorpius' cheeks felt strangely hot and he dropped his gaze to his textbook.

"YesProfessorLongbottom?" He muttered so quickly that his words were mashed together; he could see Rose staring at him questionably from the corner of his eye.

"What are the attributes of the Devil's Snare?" Professor Longbottom asked patiently. Scorpius wracked his brains for an answer. Tatia motioned for his textbook. He scanned it quickly and read the first note he could find.

"Oh-right-um, isn't that the stuff that binds you or something, and it just increases its hold on you the more you move?" He answered tentatively. The class erupted in hushed giggles again, the girls especially. Professor Longbottom shrugged his shoulders.

"Fair answer." He said, and he pointed to the notes and diagram on the blackboard. Inwardly cursing at his Herbology professor, Scorpius immediately bent down to copy, trying his best to fight the sleep from his eyes. He hated that dream, he surely did.

He smelled something sweet, almost fruity-he turned and realized that the smell was coming from none other than Tatia, who already finished copying the diagram, and was beaming at him attractively. He felt awkward under her pretty hazel stare and he swerved to finish up his copying.

The lecture was long and tedious as usual, and he even fell asleep for ten minutes of it (Tatia nudged him awake again). During the entire time, he not only felt Tatia's eyes on him, but Rose's too for some daunting reason. Class ended after what seemed like a lifetime, and he rose to his full height, yawning. He had the Quidditch match now, so he had to somehow wake himself up before the game started. He shoved his books into his bag and proceeded to leave when he felt the softest of touches on his shoulder. For a mad second he thought it was Rose, but when he spun on his heel he realized it was only Tatia, who was beaming back at him, her perfect face almost radiant under the sunlight.

"Hullo Scorpius. Mind if I walk with you?" She asked in her usual gentle, sing-song voice. He wondered if she was part Veela or something, but then he remembered that Veelas attracted _all _males. She was pretty, no doubt, but there was something missing.

"No, don't mind at all." He answered automatically, and he waited for her to catch up. She skipped to his side as they made their way back towards the school; he figured he'd catch a bit of lunch first before he left to change into his Quidditch robes. He needed as much energy as he could muster.

"So, the Halloween Ball is coming up." He heard Tatia say with a hint of hope in her tone. His face fell; he knew this was coming. He quickly recomposed himself and nodded in understanding.

"Yes, I know." _So's my birthday._

"Got a date to the dance yet?" She asked, and she turned her head to face him. She never got this close to him before. It was not until he looked at her, their faces not so far apart from each other, that he truly realized the alluring effect she had on the majority of the male population at Hogwarts. She had a fair, flawless complexion; her lips were small and pouty. Her eyes were a pure, liquid hazel, and they seemed to be begging, craving him. He gulped at the thought.

"Erm, no, I haven't. I just got the notice today; I always forget about it." He stammered as they entered the school. His head suddenly felt stuffy, though he was not sick with a cold.

"Oh, how could you ever forget about the Halloween Ball? Isn't your birthday on Halloween? You're silly, Scorpius-forgetting your own birthday-" And she laughed a high silvery laugh, pure soprano. He suddenly felt his insides squirm and his knees felt a little weak. Okay, maybe she _was_ part Veela…

"Yeah, right. Stupid." He said distractedly as he opened the doors to the Great Hall. Students were already seated at their respective tables, shoveling food down their throats. He noticed that a few Slytherins and Gryffindors were dressed in their Quidditch robes; some loyal fans had shirts with catchy phrases such as 'Go Go Gryffindor!' and, his personal favourite, 'Down With Gryffindor! All Hail Slytherin!', and some even had their faces painted to their house colours. Tatia gaped at some of them and stepped closer towards him. He felt his side go numb.

"Some people really are devoted to the game, aren't they?" She said sweetly as they sat down at the Slytherin table. Theo Flint dropped to his other side and clapped a hand on his back. He was already clad in his green Quidditch robes. Tatia scowled at him, angry for ruining the only solitary moment she ever had with Scorpius in the past few years she had been trying to. Theo looked as if he had gotten punched in the face. By now Scorpius was nearly convinced that Tatia had Veela blood running through her veins.

"Fine, I won't stay long-I'll be seein' you down at the pitch anyways. You know that we're gonna nail those bloody Gryffindors today, right?" Theo said proudly. Scorpius gulped down his pumpkin juice and nodded without looking at his best Chaser.

"Yep. Our new strategy's bound to take them down." He said as he picked up his sandwich. Theo gave Tatia another last look-Scorpius noticed the longing in his eyes-and stood up from his seat.

"Be seein' you soon, Malfoy." He said, his eyes directed towards Tatia. Tatia smiled sweetly at him, relieved that he was leaving, and it looked as if his knees were going to give way. Theo waved shakily before stalking off. Scorpius raised an eyebrow and looked over at Tatia, who was now directing her sickly sweet, too-perfect smile at him. He already felt his body succumbing to her.

"H-how do you-" He started, but she placed a finger on his lips, and he froze.

"Mother's a Veela." She said, winking one honey coloured eye at him. He nodded dumbly and turned to finish his food. His question was answered.

"So, back to our conversation…" She started again, and he groaned, but quietly so she would not be able to hear him.

He noticed the a lot of the students wearing face paint and fan shirts were getting up, probably eager to get good seats for today's match. Holden Zabini was giving him a look that probably meant _Go get ready, it's almost time to start._ He also noticed how Holden's eyes shifted over to Tatia for a split second. It was almost hard to notice.

"Erm, s-sorry Tatia, but I think I have to take my leave now. The match is going to start. Can...can we continue this later?" He did not want to be impolite. Tatia looked disappointed; she stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and he felt his heart leap to his throat.

"Oh, of course. I'll see you after the match then. Look for me; I'll be cheering you on." She said, and they both stood up simultaneously. She stood on tiptoe to give him a good luck peck on the cheek before leaving. He felt his chest caving in and he held onto the edge of the table for support, for his knees were beginning to buckle. Holden rushed by his side and gripped his shoulder.

" _Now_ do you know why I'm surprised at the fact you haven't acknowledged Tatia Schultz for the past five years?" He said, partially amused. Once he gained his strength Scorpius stood up straight; he and Holden were an inch of each other in height. He felt stupid for acting like an idiot in front of so many people.

"Let's go." He muttered flatly, and he strode out of the Great Hall, Holden trailing behind him, shaking his head and suppressing a smirk at the same time.

--

Did she just see what she thought she saw?

"Wow, Tatia Schultz-but then again this _is _Scorpius Malfoy we're talking about-" Rose could hear Carleigh Brown and Lusha Patil gossiping earnestly in front of her as she made her way towards the Quidditch pitch that chilly October afternoon.

She was aware that Tatia had some sort of an alluring effect on boys-she probably had some kind of Veela background-but she had never seen Scorpius fall for her before. It was odd at how he only began acting like a mute, stuttering idiot five years after she transferred from Beauxbatons.

"Yes, he's definitely something to look at, don't you think?" She heard Carleigh giggle through the strong autumn wind. Lusha laughed and nodded, her hands clutching her long Ravenclaw scarf.

"Too bad he's a Malfoy though." They both nodded and burst out in shrieking, girly laughter. Rose felt sick to her stomach and quickened her pace, passing them and proceeding to the pitch. She did not know why she felt so angry, so frustrated towards all of this; Scorpius Malfoy's love life did not affect her in any possible way.

She was supposed to hate him, after all.

She searched the crowd, hoping to find any familiar faces, when she caught sight of her siblings (minus Randy and Hugo), Lily, Dominique, Roxanne, Lorcan, his twin brother Lysander (Albus was still trying to get used to the fact that he and Lily were dating) and Lisa waving frantically at her. They really did not have to wave; the brilliant red hair of the Weasley clan was reasonably easy to spot.

"Saved a spot for you." Mandy scooted down the bench for her oldest sister. Rose took a seat in between her two sisters and waited for the match to begin. The crowd was wild, probably eager to see some Hogwarts Quidditch action after a long two months of summer.

"Look, I think the match is starting soon. The players are coming out." Dominique was leaning over the side to get a better look at the Quidditch players. Like her siblings, her hair was more of a strawberry blonde than actual red, probably because of her Veela lineage. Rose turned around, and she noticed that a lot of the first year boys were stealing glances at her.

"Look, look! It's Randy, I'm pretty sure that's him." Roxanne was pointing towards the very bottom of the pitch, and Rose had to strain her eyes to see him. He was the smallest of the team, and even from far away she could see that her youngest brother was shaking. Albus, much taller and much more confident looking, gave his cousin an encouraging pat on the back. Hugo was on his other side, standing still. She could see, even from a distance, that he was cracking a smile. She fought the urge to march straight down to the field and slap him on the arm.

"Hello Hogwarts, and welcome to the very first Quidditch match of the season!" The voice boomed over everyone's heads, and Rose recognized it at once. It was Ryan Jordan, fellow seventh year, Gryffindor, and the son of Lee Jordan.

"Here we have Slytherin on the left, Gryffindor on the right. I already put down a few Knuts that Gryffindor was going to take the match but-"

"RYAN!" McGonagall's voice screeched over the loud speaker; she did not need any sort of audio or magical magnification to overpower his voice.

"Sorry Professor, just wanted to express my opinion-anyway we have a few new players on each team playing for the very first time. For Slytherin, we have a new Keeper, Matthew Mcnair!" The Slytherin fans hollered with excitement, and Rose squinted towards the Slytherin Quidditch team. A very tall, very burly looking boy was waving a thickly muscled arm towards the crowd. She scanned the line of Slytherins further until she noticed the tall, lean, blond Seeker, looking quite pleased with himself for some reason. She looked up to eye the crowd; Tatia was grinning down at him, calling his name. It was as if he could hear her amidst the howling wind and the busy crowd. Rose could not help but feel loathing bubbling inside of her.

"And for the Gryffindor side, we have yet another Weasley to join the bunch! Meet our third year Chaser, Randolph Weasley! Must be excited to join his cousin Albus and big brother Hugo." Ryan's voice boomed over the crowd again, and Rose's eyes shifted over to her youngest brother. Albus gently pushed him forward, and Randy was waving nervously at the crowd. The Gryffindors animatedly chanted his last name, gradually getting louder every time they said it.

"Weasley, Weasley, Weasley, WEASLEY!" The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, and Rose joined in, screaming for her brother. She wanted him to know that she was there, after the incident that happened this morning.

"Alright, settle down, settle down. Madame Hooch's coming out; the game will start in a moment. Don't fall off your Hippogriffs now."

In a flash the Quaffles, Bludgers, and the one Snitch flitted into the air and separated; the Qudditch players immediately mounted their brooms and zoomed off. Rose continued to scream and cheer for her brothers and for Albus, but her eyes were transfixed on a certain Slytherin Seeker.

"SCORPIUS! THE SNITCH IS OVER THERE! NO, HIGHER! HIGHER!" Though Tatia was screaming, her voice still sounded fitting enough to be in a broadway musical. Rose's eyes were practically slits as she glanced at the perfect brunette waving in the stands across the pitch, attempting to get Scorpius' attention. The blond Slytherin Seeker was neck to neck with Albus, pushing and shoving each other while trying to reach for the Snitch at the same time.

"Oh I wish she'd just shut up." Rose muttered, her eyes now back to Scorpius, who managed to gain a lead on Albus and cut straight up into the air. Lisa turned to her, perplexed.

"Who are you talking about?" She asked nervously. She probably thought she was talking about her. Rose whirled around to face her, her eyes wide.

"No-it wasn't you I was talking about-sorry, just thinking outloud-"

A loud cheer exploded from the other side of the pitch; Scorpius was punching the air; Theodore Flint was zooming around the three hoops, laughing and blowing raspberries at the Gryffindor stands; Hugo, the Keeper, looked simply dismal. She assumed they just scored a goal.

"...And that's one for Slytherin. C'mon Gryffindor…" Ryan Lee muttered as he updated the score. Rose's eyes shot over to Tatia. She was jumping up in down in sheer excitement, screaming Scorpius' name, even though he was not the one who scored the goal.

_Suck-up,_ She thought bitterly as she sank back into her seat. Lily turned to face her and patted her shoulder encouragingly. She assumed that Rose was acting sore because of the fact that Slytherin scored, and not because a certain girl was throwing her lungs out to get Scorpius' attention...and not because that same certain girl gave him a peck on the cheek before the game…

"Don't worry Rosie," Lily said kindly. "I'm sure we'll come up with a goal soon. Maybe Randy will be the one to shoot it in."

Rose looked up at her younger cousin and flashed a small smile, convincing Lily that the Slytherin goal was what was bothering her. The young redheaded girl then turned back towards the match, shouting at the Gryffindor players. Rose hung back, her eyes constantly moving as Scorpius weaved in and out, trying to avoid Albus. Every once in awhile she would find herself looking back at Tatia, whose lung capacity seemed greater than a giant at the rate she was screaming at, and she felt nothing but the cold stab of what she admitted to as jealousy.

But what could she possibly be jealous for?


	7. Date Drama

_A/N: Let's shine a little bit of light on our favourite next-gen Potter boy, shall we?_

**Date Drama**

"Weasley?"

"Hn." She barely looked up from the bottle of unicorn blood she was examining. Scorpius sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which was still quite windswept from the Quidditch match he won earlier that day. He was skipping the victory celebration in the Slytherin common room to continue working on the Veritaserum assignment with a not-too-thrilled Rose Weasley in the prefect common room, who has not said a single word to him the entire evening. Irritated with being given the silent treatment, he had been trying to get her attention, but was failing miserably.

"There's no need to be sore over all of this," He said as he began to reach towards the bottle of unicorn blood; she slapped his hand away and his eyes narrowed. "I'm pretty sure Gryffindor'll have plenty of other chances in the season to-"

"Sore? _Sore? _You think I'm _sore _because my house lost some stupid game against yours? _Sore! _Swell choice of words, Malfoy. Go to the hospital wing and tell that to my brother and cousin, whom _you've _put in there, by the way. They're the real _sore _ones around here." She retorted acidly, her eyes flashing with anger. He smirked and leaned back against his chair, admiring the view. She was one thing when she was studying, but when she was all worked up...Merlin, she was something else.

"And just what the hell are you sneering at? Are you satisfied with the fact that you've seriously hurt Al and Randy?" She asked hotly, slowly rising out of her seat. Scorpius took that small movement as a challenge, but he did not stand up. Instead, he crossed his arms and inclined his head to look up at her.

"Oh c'mon Weasley, they're _Gryffindors_. Surely they're a little tougher than you're implying." He replied sarcastically, eager to see her reaction. Just as he expected, Rose threw her arms up in the air and laughed maniacally.

"You bloody pushed Al off of his broom so you can grab the stupid Snitch for yourself, and even before that, you tackled my brother into the wall! Now Al has a broken leg and Randy's got a fractured wrist!" She shrieked. He could see tiny tears protruding from the corners of her blue eyes, which were wild from anger.

"That's what Skele-Gro's for, love." He said with a playful wink, and she exploded. She brandished her wand and for a split second he thought she was going to hex him, but instead she tapped her cauldron, and as usual it disappeared. She then proceeded to stuff her books and other things into her bag. A few minutes later, the wooden door slammed shut. Its crashing noise echoed throughout the common room, bouncing off the stone walls and reverberating into the high ceiling. Scorpius was left alone nothing but his bag and his satisfaction.

It was always fun to pull at Rose Weasley every once in awhile. It took the stress off of a lot of things.

Tatia Schultz, for instance.

He reached into his bag and pulled out the Snitch that he caught earlier. He managed to nick it when Madame Hooch was not looking (he got Goyle to replace it with a wad of parchment painted gold; the batty old woman did not seem to tell the difference) and had managed to get away with it. The Snitch's wings unfolded and began to flutter away from his open palm, but when it looked like it was going to fly out of his reach he caught it at the last second.

He almost literally had to pry Tatia off of him after the match; she was ecstatic that Slytherin won, or maybe she was happy because she got to be with him again. She kept pestering him about the Halloween Ball, all the while dropping very obvious hints about how she wanted to go as his date. His stomach lurched at the idea, but he did not know whether it was because he did not fancy her in that way, or because it was her Veela charm that made the idea so intriguing.

In all honesty he did not really want to go to the Ball; he was merely forcing himself to attend to the blasted event simply because everyone in the school was probably expecting him to be there, and plus he was Head Boy, so he had to regardless-which meant, his eyes widened a little in realization, that Weasley also had to attend.

The Snitch looked like it was going to escape for sure this time, but he grabbed it again. He remembered distinctly that Rose Weasley was never one for dances, or any kind of social get togethers which involved taking a date. He did not really understand why; he thought she was one of the better looking girls at Hogwarts. Sure, she only recently started to look..._decent_...in their sixth year, but even before, with her bushy bronze hair, baby blue eyes, freckled skin, and oversized teeth, her looks still outshone many others-at least in his opinion. Thank Merlin for puberty. With the looks she had now, she was bound to get a boy or two to go with her to the Ball. He did not even know if it was possible to grow out of that unruly mess that she had for the first five years at Hogwarts. She was amazing, that girl.

He felt his cheeks grow hot at the thought of that, and he shook it off. The Snitch was buzzing around his head, seemingly forgotten. He caught it once it stopped for a split second, right between his eyes.

_You're not thinking of asking her to the Ball, are you?_

_What would Tatia think?_

His head was playing with him again. _Tatia? _What did she have to do with any of this, and why on earth would he ask Weasley to the Ball? She was not one for dancing, and plus she would just be annoying him the entire evening, probably berating him on how he should keep watch on the students for any inappropriate behaviour or whatever. Tatia, on the other hand, was probably going to keep hounding him until he gave into her. He scoffed at the idea; he was not going to give in without a fight. He was not like his father; he was not a coward. He decided to use Tatia as a last resort date (his instinct was strictly disagreeing with him), since he figured he would find somebody more suitable to take.

_Like Rose Weasley, perhaps? Just making a suggestion. _He hated how his conscience sounded eerily like his father. Catching his Snitch for the last time that evening, he stood up, nearly knocking over his chair.

"Damn it!" He cursed to nobody, and shoved the Snitch back into his bag, along with his Potions equipment and textbook, and stormed out of the common room.

--

"Oh, it's just Malfoy shooting off his big mouth. It's not the end of the world, Rosie." Albus reassured his cousin the next morning. It was an ugly, grey Sunday; the sky was threatening to storm over the school any minute. The clouds were so grey they almost looked black; it reflected Rose's mood perfectly.

"Still, the way he said it-" Rose began to protest, but Randy shushed her. He was well enough to be up and about, but his arm was confined to a sling. Albus was stuck in bed since his leg was broken, but the Skele-Gro was working quickly; Madam Pomfrey said that he would be better in a couple of days.

"It doesn't matter. We'll have plenty of time to kick his arse-oh shut up Rose, it's not like you curse every now and then-next game, right?" The young boy grinned and Albus gave him the thumbs up. Rose looked downright miserable and she buried her face in her hands.

"Cheer up, Rosie. Like Al said, it's just Malfoy. There's only one of him and like-"

"Half a country of us." Albus finished Randy's sentence, grinning. Rose looked up and smiled weakly; having many cousins came to her advantage when it came to support. They all knew that she had it the worst when it came to Scorpius; he gave her the hardest time out of all of the members of their family. Albus secretly had an idea as to why, but he kept it to himself, and of course his sister, who probably had more knowledge at those sort of things.

"Well, I'm gonna head up to the common room and do my essay. I'll visit you during lunch, Al. Bye, Rosie." Randy gave them a small wave before leaving. Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Essay-? Isn't his wrist-that's his writing hand isn't-"

"He's ambidextrous." Rose replied. Before Albus had the chance to ask just what the bloody hell ambidextrous meant (he had a hunch that it meant that he could magically levitate his quill and make it write on its own without the use of a wand), Mina Chang burst into the room with a frantic look on her face, as if Albus only had five minutes left to live and this was her only chance to interact with him.

"Oh, Albus! I'm so glad you're okay-I didn't get the chance to see you after your accident...it was so crowded…" Mina's bottom lip was quivering, fighting back tears. It was Rose's turn to raise an eyebrow. She glanced over at Albus, who was buying into the Ravenclaw's melodramatic act-it _was _an act, right? His cheeks were tinged a slight pink and his eyes were an unreadable emotion, as if he could not help but focus on anything else in the room but Mina.

"'M fine, don't worry about me. Madam Pomfrey said that I should be better in a couple of days. Says I'm a fast recoverer or something like that." He mumbled in a voice so low Mina and Rose had to lean in to hear him. Mina clapped her hands together and laughed gleefully. Her lip stopped quivering; she was not on the verge of tears anymore.

"Oh, that's great! So you will be okay for the Ball then?" She asked eagerly, searching his face for an answer. Albus unconsciously scratched at a bandage on his face and Rose had to pull his hand away in case he ripped it off.

"Y-yeah, of course, but you know, it's still-" He began nervously, but Mina broke out in joyous laughter again and leaned in to peck him on the cheek. He stiffened and his face looked as red as a strawberry.

"Brilliant! I'll talk to you later then. Bye Rose, see you at the prefect meeting tomorrow!" Mina hopped off the edge of Albus' bed and skipped away. Albus seemed to have returned to his normal colour; he was also breathing again. Rose smirked and tapped him on the shoulder to make sure he was still on earth.

"I'm guessing you've already gotten your date to the Halloween Ball?"

Albus turned to face her; his expression was forlorn, much to her surprise.

"Well, that's what I thought." He replied quietly. His was guiltily down at his lap, as if he did something wrong and was confessing to her. Rose scooted closer to him and touched his arm.

"What are you talking about? I thought you were taking Mina; it certainly looked like you did when she was here a few seconds ago." She pointed out, but Albus shrugged his skinny shoulders.

"Y'see, I asked Mina to the Ball before the match yesterday, but then afterwards, when I was admitted to the hospital wing, erm…" He stopped and he looked around to make sure nobody else, or maybe Mina in particular, was listening. When the coast was clear, he cleared his throat and continued. "Lisa...Lisa came and she asked."

Rose's cobalt orbs felt like they were going to pop out of her skull. Lisa Longbottom? She never suspected such a timid girl to do something so bold, but then again she was in Gryffindor…

An aching pain began to rise her chest, and she knew it was pity for her favourite cousin. She understood how he felt; Lisa was such a nice girl, a good friend to them both, but Rose also knew that Albus had fancied Mina since...well ever since he first laid eyes on her, which was during their Sorting.

"Do you really want my opinion on this, Al? Because I think you already know what I'm going to say." Rose said after a bit of thinking, and Albus shook his head wearily.

"I know, I know. Save it for when my leg heals though." He smiled and she could not help but smile back. "What about you? I hear you have no choice this year, being Head Girl and all. You gonna bring a date?"

Rose's heart dropped to her stomach; she knew this was coming. She bit her bottom lip and stared at the window behind Albus' bed.

"I-I don't know, Al. You know me, I-"

"Don't fancy much dancing, I know, but McGonagall's forcing you to go." Albus pointed out again, and Rose felt a little irritated.

"I know that, but I think I'm just going to be there on Head duty, and nothing else. No date, nothing. I'm going to be there because Professor McGonagall instructed me to be there. I'm going to be there to make sure nobody does anything out of line." She said strictly. Albus shook his head.

"Not even a costume?" He said sadly, and Rose hit him on the shoulder. They both laughed quietly for a little bit.

"I think the costume's mandatory too, Al, so I don't have a say in that either." She said dismally. Halloween was probably one of her least favourite holidays; she did not see the point in dressing up, and being the granddaughter of dentists (actually that might not have to do with anything, since her younger siblings were candy addicts), she did not have a big sweet tooth either.

"Aw, you're no fun, Rosie. No date, no enthusiasm for the holiday whatsoever…you disgust me." Albus scrunched his nose up in a fair imitation of their great Aunt Muriel, and she burst into laughter. Madam Pomfrey shot her a pointed look and she clasped a hand over her mouth.

"Al, even if I was looking for someone to accompany me, I don't think I'd find anybody-I mean, who would want to go out with someone like me? Bookworm, bushy hair-" She ran her fingers through her thick, but definitely not bushy, wave of hair. "-Buck-toothed…" She felt her eyes stinging.

"Do you honestly think you're bushy-haired and buck-toothed? Bookwormish, alright, but bushy-haired? Buck-toothed? Rose, when was the last time you've looked in the mirror? You're none of those at all." Albus said softly. That triggered it; tears formed at the corners of Rose's eyes.

"That stupid drawing of Malfoy's seemed to disagree with you." She croaked through her tears. They were streaming down her face full force now; Albus held his arms out wide and she leaned in towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, sobbing quietly. Albus held his cousin for a few minutes, rocking her back and forth despite the pain he was feeling in his casted leg, and murmured words of encouragement in her ear. He knew that she never really got over that drawing Scorpius made for her in second year; he noticed how self-conscious she had become since then.

"That was nearly five years ago, Rose. I told you, Malfoy's nothing. He's all bark but no bite. That slimy git doesn't deserve your attention." He whispered. Rose's crying ceased with those words; she looked up into his brilliant green eyes.

"He really is a slimy git, isn't he?" She asked with a smile. Albus laughed and held her away at arm's length, examining her face. Her appearance really did change drastically over the years, and though she would not admit it, it did get a few boys running after her.

"Always was and always will be." His eyes shot to the clock. "Don't you have a class to get to?"

Rose pouted, pretending to be hurt.

"Eager to get rid of me, I see. It's Sunday, Al. Did you fall on your head too?" She teased as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes with her sleeve. Albus laughed and shook his head.

"No, no-it's just that you've been here for over an hour and I don't want to keep you from anything. There's better things to do around here than tend to the sick." He said with a wink. She had no idea what he meant by that, but she leaned in to give him a thank you kiss on the top of his messy black head.

"Now that you mention it, I have to start on my Runes essay (Albus' eyes widened at the mention of this; his accident probably caused him to 'forget' about that too). I'll give you notes later so you can start on yours." She added after reading his shocked expression. "Thanks for everything, Al; you're the best, really."

He gave her a wink as she rose from her seat on the edge of his bed.

"Now you're _really_ being modest. Later." She waved goodbye before leaving the hospital wing, feeling much better than she did when she entered. She could always count on Albus to cheer her up-

"Hey, did you start on your Veritaserum yet?"

"No...my bloody partner's lazier than anybody I've ever known."

She was passing by a couple of students in her Potions class as she made her way back to the Gryffindor common room. Her mood suddenly dropped when she remembered that she had to meet up with the dratty Malfoy boy later tonight.

So much for cheering up.

--

It was nearing seven thirty in the evening, and Scorpius was making his way to the prefect common room to meet up with Rose to work on their Veritaserum assignment. There was only a few weeks until the assignment was due, and then they did not have to see each other anymore-_wait_, they still had Head duty. Damn.

_Nice try, but it looks like it'll be a little harder to _Weasel _your way out of this one._

Smacking the side of his head in a vain attempt to get his conscience to stop talking, Scorpius pushed the door to the common room open with his other hand. Rose was early, as usual, sitting at the table they always sat at with the cauldron in the centre, bubbling excitedly amidst a pile of bottles filled with strange ingredients.

"Started without me, have you? How inconsiderate." He greeted jokingly as he sat down across from her. She glared up at him, her eyes flashing again. He felt something flop around in his stomach at the sight of that.

"I always start without you, Malfoy." Rose replied scathingly. Scorpius raised his eyebrows, surprised. That was the first time she had spoken to him since their little row the other night.

"Ah, so it speaks." He said, and he heard her mutter a string of curse words under her breath. So what they have said was true: she has inherited her mother's brains, but her mouth, she definitely got from her father.

"I'm not in the mood for you right now, Malfoy. Just-just stir the potion like the textbook says and keep your bloody mouth shut so I can hear myself think for once." She snapped, and returned to scribbling on a long roll of parchment. He squinted at her fine writing, and realized that it was their report. Sighing in defeat, he pulled the cauldron closer to him and did as he was told. Silence elapsed them for the next fifteen minutes, both immersed in their own thoughts. The only noises present were the bubbling from the cauldron and the scratching from Rose's quill. Every now and then Scorpius would look up to see what Rose was doing, only to realize that she would only be doing the same thing she was doing five seconds before, which was writing furiously on the parchment. She looked like she was pressing very hard onto the paper; her writing hand looked strained.

He hated awkward silences, even if it was with the person he loathed most. Even though he did not feel a hint of remorse for what he said last night, he did not want her to be angry at him anymore. He wracked his brain for anything, any topic he could talk to her about.

"So, the-erm, Halloween Ball-" He realized that it was a dangerous subject to talk about, especially with her, but he could not think up of anything else.

"What part about keeping your mouth shut did you not understand, Malfoy?" She interjected cuttingly, not even bothering to look up at him. He glared at her, a little annoyed now. How dare she tell him what to do…

"What gives you the authority to order me around like I'm some kind of house elf? I was just trying to make some conversation and you bite my head off!" He yelled back. Rose dropped her quill and raised her hands to rub her temples. She seemed like she was under a lot of stress; she looked very tired.

"Sorry, I'm just-" She hesitated for a moment; he sensed the vulnerability in her voice and he went in for the kill.

"You don't want to go to the Ball." He stated indifferently. It was not a question, merely a statement; her great blue eyes widened and they seemed to be flickering with the flames from the fireplace. She seemed so surprised at what he said that she forgot to be angry at him.

"I-what? No, what could have lead you to that?" She asked, her voice slightly wavering. He shook his head, dismissing her question. He found it too easy to read people.

"You haven't gone in the past two years, and now that you're Head Girl, McGonagall's making you go against your wishes, and you're torn between what you want and your duties as a Head. It's quite simple, really." He explained casually, and her eyes only widened further. He smirked at her dumbfounded expression; he found it oddly cute. Rose then coughed and recomposed herself.

"You're very observant." She replied, her eyes falling to her parchment. Though the room was fairly dark and their only light source was the fire, he could still see the faintest mark of the Weasley Blush painted on her cheeks. Her hair was hiding her ears, but he was sure they were red too.

"So, who's the lucky bloke?" He asked as he leaned sharply on his chair, the legs tipping back. Rose's blush darkened and she picked up her quill, probably to distract herself.

"That's none of your business." She replied quietly, and resumed writing up on their report. Scorpius raised an eyebrow, curious. He did not even know why he felt so keen on finding out who her date was.

"Everyone's going to find out on the night of the dance anyway. Who is it?" He pressed on. He leaned forward, letting his chair fall back into place, and he rested his forearms on the table so he could lean in even closer. He pushed the cauldron out of the way; he could almost see the faint group of freckles on her nose…

"I'm going on strictly business. One of us has to keep watch." She answered quickly, her eyes darting left to right as her hand flew across the parchment. He frowned, not quite understanding what she meant.

"So...you're going alone." He stated, and waited for her clarification.

"That's the plan." She agreed emotionlessly. He leaned back on his chair again, placing his hands behind his head.

_Alone? How could she be going alone?_

"Knowing you, you're probably bringing the girl every boy in school is after." There was a short pause. Rose stopped writing, though she kept her quill in her hand and her eyes were still focused on her paper. "You're going with Tatia Schultz, aren't you?"

He stared at his Potions partner, who was not returning his gaze. It would not have been an odd question to ask if it did not come from her.

_Strictly business. _Her words were echoing in his brain, and for some reason he felt empty, let down.

"Well?" She was looking up at him now, but there was an unreadable expression on her face. He took a deep breath and nodded slowly, very slowly.

"Yeah, I'm going with her." He answered in a voice that did not feel like his own, and she nodded. She was probably expecting that answer.

"Thought so." That confirmed his suspicion.She continued on with her writing, and he simply sat there, his mind reeling.

_You said she was a last resort, _his conscience fired at him.

_Yeah, she was, _he replied dully, _she is._


	8. A Slight Twist

**A Slight Twist**

"He asked you if you were going with anybody?" Albus asked, his bright green eyes as wide as Fanged Frisbees. A little over a week had passed since Scorpius had inquired Rose about the Halloween Ball. It was a crisp Thursday afternoon; Rose had just finished lunch and now had spare period, and decided to spend it doing her homework with Albus in the common room. His leg was completely healed now as it was expected to be, though he had a slight limp to his step ("It feels a little wonky; maybe I just need to get used to it." He explained sheepishly), but Madam Pomfrey assured him that it was only temporary.

"Yeah, it was so unlike him, really. I mean, he can be a nosy little git, but he seemed so eager, so bent on finding out who I was going with." Rose answered thoughtfully. She opened her textbook and unrolled her parchment, which was already three quarters filled up with her neat cursive writing. Albus shook his head, bewildered at her work.

"I really don't understand how you can write so much in so little time. Weren't we just assigned that this morning?" He pointed to her parchment as she attempted to lie it flat on the table. She laughed as she bent over her bag to take out her quill.

"Some people prefer to use their work periods to their advantage, Albus." She said as she resumed her essay. Albus sighed and dropped his quill. He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated with his own essay.

"I can't work here. It's so distracting." He looked over his shoulder to see a group of second years trading Chocolate Frog cards. In another part of the room Thomas Finnigan and Carleigh Brown were talking animatedly about the Halloween Ball and how they should wear corresponding costumes. Albus groaned. Rose sighed and dropped her quill as well; she rolled up her parchment and stuffed her book back into her bag. Albus raised an eyebrow. She motioned for him to do the same.

"Let's go to the library. You're getting that paper done whether you like it or not."

Albus groaned again and Rose suppressed a smirk. Together they walked out of the portrait hole, down the winding staircase and into the vast library. They moved to their usual study table, the one by the window overlooking the mountains.

"Is this good enough for you? It's a nice quiet environment for you to start on that essay." Rose said with a sweet smile. She tapped his blank parchment with her wand and the words 'The Difference Between an Animagus and a Werewolf, by Albus Potter' appeared in fine calligraphy. "There, I gave you a head start."

Albus gave her a weary eyed stare and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Open your textbook and start working, Al. You can't pretend your leg is broken anymore. It's due tomorrow." Rose stood up and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm going to get a few books, I'll be back. Don't think I won't be coming back to check on you!"

She whirled on her heel and began walking towards one of the towering bookshelves, examining the shelves closely. She was looking for a book that would help her on her Herbology assignment.

"There has to be something around here-oh!" She was trailing the spines of the books with her index finger when she found a book that seemed to touch on the very subject she was writing on. As she reached to grab it, another hand reached out for the book. Rose quickly withdrew hers, a faint blush visible on her cheeks. She also felt her ears growing warm.

"Sorry," Her voice chimed with another's. She turned to see who it was, and her blush only intensified. He was a few inches taller than her, with neatly combed black hair and dark brown eyes. He had an almost aristocratic aura, almost like Scorpius, except there was a kinder look on his face, and he was wearing a Ravenclaw tie.

"You can take that book if you'd like. You were reaching for it first." He had an Irish accent, she noticed. Rose shook her head and motioned for him to take the book.

"No, no! I insist, it's yours." She said quickly, and stepped backwards for him to take it. The boy chuckled and plucked the book out from its rightful place, examining its worn cover.

_"The History of Devil's Snare, _hm? I'm guessing you're in one of Professor Longbottom's seventh year classes?" He asked. His voice was thick and deep, like syrup. Rose felt her knees quiver and she leaned back on a nearby study table to keep her balance.

"Y-yes, I am. You too?" _Stupid question, of course he was, why else would he be looking for the book? _She inwardly cursed herself and cleared her throat. The boy laughed and held the book towards her. Rose stared at it wordlessly.

"Here, take it. _I insist." _He smiled, and her heart skipped a beat or two. She took the book, and for a small fraction of a second their fingers brushed. His dark eyes locked on the badge on her robes.

"Head Girl, eh? Just my luck, you must be Rose Weasley." He held out a hand to her, and she shook it with a nearly non-existent grip. She felt her cheeks grow warmer and she cast her gaze to her shoes.

"I'm Damien, Damien Byrne. S'nice to meet you." He said and he flashed her a handsome smile; she forgot where she was for a minute. Rose recomposed herself and smiled a smile reminiscent of her father's: crooked, wide, and goofy.

"Erm, it was nice to meet you too, Damien." She looked behind her shoulder and spotted Albus waving at her desperately. She groaned inwardly; her perfect moment was ending. "Um-"

"Albus, hey!" Damien was already halfway towards Albus' table. Rose raised en eyebrow; so he was not waving to her…

"I haven't seen you in awhile. How's that leg of yours?"

"Oh, it's getting better...a little limp to my step but it's supposed to be only temporary…"

Rose trudged back to her and Albus' table, where she dumped her book and plopped on her chair. Albus cheerfully turned to his cousin.

"Hey, I'm guessing you met Damien. He's an old mate of mine; we had a few classes together." He explained. Rose nodded and Damien smiled at her again; she turned away so he would not see her blush. Albus stifled a laugh.

"Anyways, I should get going. It looks like you've got a lot of work to do, Al. We should catch up some time." Damien said, pointing to Albus' essay. Albus gave him a sad smile and nodded.

"Course. Later Damien." With that the Ravenclaw boy rose from his seat, shouldering his bag as he did so. He cast Rose one more look before leaving.

"Goodbye, Rose. Hope we meet again." He said with a wink, and he left the library. Rose's eyes followed his back until she could not see him anymore. Albus shook his head, a smile on his face.

"Taken a fancy to dear ol' Byrne haven't you? He's not a bad bloke; maybe you should get him to go to the Ball with you."

Rose bristled at the mention of the Halloween Ball. Her cheeks reddened even more (Albus did not even know if that was possible, but he was just proved wrong) and she laughed nervously.

"What-? No, no! How could I possibly-? No...he's probably gotten someone to go with him. How could he not?" She ended the sentence in a sort of faraway tone, as if she was dreaming. Albus raised an eyebrow and scratched his head with the end of his quill.

"Erm, well it doesn't hurt to ask does it? Try it out-he doesn't seem to mind you. Maybe he'll ditch his current date for you." He said with a wink. Rose made a face.

"That's horrible, Al, and besides I already said I was going to the Ball on strictly business. I'm going there to keep things in order, and I highly doubt Malfoy's going to do any of that." She said, but with a hint of uncertainty. Albus ran a thin hand through his wild black hair, exhaling in frustration.

"Loosen up, will you Rose? It's a ball for Merlin's sake. You go to these sorts of things for _fun_. Does the word fun sound familiar to you? 'Cause it certainly looks like you haven't been having any of that lately." He picked up his quill again and tried to start on his essay. He seemed to have given up on her. Rose sighed and stared at the Devil's Snare book sitting in between them.

"I don't know, Al…"

"It's really up to you, Rose. I don't know what else to say. I've given up trying to convince you that you're not going to have fun if you're just going on _strictly business_. You had a chance at a date just a few minutes ago. With brains like yours I'm pretty sure you were able to see that." He replied without looking up from his parchment. Rose sighed again. Usually she was the one who had something to say, but this time she could not find the right words. Albus was now playing the role of disciplined, knowledgeable supporter, while she was the one in need of support.

"Sorry." Those were the only words that she could manage for now. She hung her head, ashamed. Albus finally looked up from his parchment (he barely wrote a sentence) and reached towards her to pat her hand.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Rose." He said, smiling. "At least you're going to be there. I'm looking forward to that."

--

_Where the bloody hell is she?_

Scorpius' metal grey eyes shot to the clock for the umpteenth time in the past tenth minutes. It was half an hour before supper and he had arranged to meet Tatia in the Slytherin common room to break the news to her; he was going to get her to go with him to the Halloween Ball. He ran his thin fingers through his messy hair and shook his head. He could not believe he was doing this. He told Holden earlier that same morning and he almost fell off his chair.

_"And I thought you weren't going to go through with it." _His words were flat, merely a statement. Scorpius would have agreed with him earlier if he did not have that dreaded discussion with Rose Weasley a few nights ago in the prefects' common room. For some reason when she said she was going to the ball _alone _it made him change his mind about having Tatia as a last resort date. Maybe going with the half-Veela was not going to be so bad. He was going to be envied by most of the male population of Hogwarts that night, that was a plus.

_"You're going with Tatia Schultz, aren't you?"_

How did she even come up with such a question? Maybe she was as observant as Holden was. Why would she be so interested in Tatia's personal life though? It did not make any sense at all…

"Scorpius?"

He turned his head towards the source of the sound, and his heart automatically skipped a beat when he saw Tatia standing a few feet away from him. She smiled warmly, and he swore he could not feel his pulse anymore.

"You wanted to see me?" Her sing-song voice was drenched with hope; he could read the eagerness in her hazel eyes. He nodded wordlessly and motioned for her to sit on the armchair across from him. Once she got herself comfortable, he straightened himself up and cleared his throat. He sensed that she already knew what he was going to ask her; she was probably anticipating this for awhile now.

"So, uh-" He tugged at his collar and pulled at his tie; she giggled at his nervousness. _Damn her and her Veela charm. She's going to be the death of me._

"The Halloween Ball, y-yes, I wanted to-"

"Oh Scorpius, of course I'll go with you!" She answered cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "Who wouldn't say no to you?"

He laughed shakily and rubbed the back of his head, causing his hair to stick up. She laughed and it was music to his ears.

"So it's settled then." He said and she nodded; they both got up at the same time, ready to go down to the Great Hall.

"Walk with me to dinner?" She asked. He nodded and dumbly followed her out of the common room.

--

Rose was so furious she thought her head was going to pop off, and the part that angered her the most was that she did not even know why she was so furious in the first place.

She just had supper in the Great Hall, and mind you the food was delicious as usual, but while she was eating she took a quick glance around like she usually did, and saw the most nauseating thing she had ever seen in her entire life. She was almost compelled to bend over and throw up the roast chicken she had devoured just moments before.

Across the room, at the Slytherin table, Tatia Schultz was sitting with Scorpius Malfoy, and she was feeding him food. _Feeding him. _And he looked like he was _enjoying _it.

Actually, to be honest it looked like he was half-asleep, or in some kind of trance, but still, maybe he was in a state of euphoria or something. Rose was storming up to the library; she was glad she did not have to see that stupid git this evening. He had Quidditch practice.

She felt a part of her anger wash away when she opened the doors to the library, her favourite place in the school. Like her mother before her, she usually did work to distract her from whatever was bothering her at the moment. She decided to work on that Herbology assignment to wear down her frustrations.

Albus promised to meet her later. She moved to the back of the library, at their usual table by the window, and got straight to work. She unfurled her parchment and opened _The History of Devil's Snare_ and began to skim through its pages. She was feeling better already.

"Hello, Rose." A deep, sultry voice distracted her from her work, and she almost thought it was Scorpius for a mad second. She jerked a little, startled, and looked up to see who it was. A bright splash of scarlet tinged her cheeks when she realized it was that Ravenclaw boy she met earlier, Damien Byrne.

"H-hello Damien." She spluttered, blinking rapidly. He chuckled and eyed one of the empty seats beside her.

"Mind if I sit down? I'd like to talk to you for a bit."

Her heart racing, she nodded mutedly. He took a seat to her immediate right, his eyes never leaving hers.

"So I heard that being Head Girl, you don't really have a choice in going to the Halloween Ball. Is that right?" He started. His chestnut orbs were boring holes into her wide blue ones. She merely nodded. Her throat felt constricted, preventing her from speaking.

"And I also heard that you were planning on going alone..._strictly business_, apparently?"

A burning rage licked at the walls of her insides; she made a mental note to kick Albus' arse later. Rose found her voice and cleared her throat.

"U-um, yes...that was the plan, originally-"

"Would it still be considered business if you came with me to the Halloween Ball?" Damien asked, smiling slightly. Rose's mouth opened a little in surprise. Her eyes drifted to the side.

_He just asked you to the ball-say something! Agree! What are you doing? You look like an idiot!_

"O-of cour-I mean, well, it can be arranged." _Stupid, stupid, stupid. You sound so stupid._

"Very well then." He stood up and flashed her one last dazzling smile; she almost literally felt her heart melt. "I'll meet you by the entrance to your common room at ten before eight." And with that, he left. Rose stared off into the darkness, bewildered. She was not sure if what just happened was real, or if she was just imagining it.

_Don't be silly; you have a date to the Halloween Ball now. You lied to Scorpius Malfoy. Happy?_

Her elation suddenly whisked away at the thought of that. She technically did lie to him, but it was not like she knew that Damien was going to ask her. She did not even know Damien _existed_ until earlier today!

_What's there to feel remorseful about? It's just Malfoy…_

_That's what you think._

She shook her head, hoping to rid of her conscience for now. Scorpius was a prat and she did not want to be reminded of him at the moment. Damien was a far better off person than him anyway…

"Hey Rosie."

Albus stolled into view, a goofy grin on his features and his green eyes twinkling. Rose smirked at him.

"I am going to kill you once we get out of here." She whispered in a dangerous voice. Her cousin could not help but laugh.

"I simply can't let you go to the Ball on _strictly business_. Do you know how boring that sounded when you told me that the first time? I had to do something about it! Don't kill me, I might have just saved your social life!" He protested half-jokingly. He took the seat Damien occupied previously. Rose playfully hit him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Al." She said with a smile.

"I only did it to preserve our family's reputation, you know. I'm pretty sure none of our relatives would want a standoffish Weasley going by herself to the Halloween Ball on _strictly business._" He replied, and she hit him again. They broke out in laughter, only to be shushed by Madam Pince.

"I hate you." She choked in between giggles. Albus smirked and pulled her into a one-armed hug.

"I love you too, Rosie."


	9. And Here It Comes

_This will be the last chapter for at least a week or so, for I will be going on vacation. I'll try to make this as long as possible._

_Thanks for your ongoing support, you're all superbly awesome._

**And Here It Comes**

"Damien Byrne?! Are you effing joking?" Thomas Finnigan spluttered during lunch one day. There were only two days left until Halloween (a week left until the Veritaserum was due, Rose also noted), which also meant that the Halloween Ball was fast approaching. Rose was sitting with Albus (he was sitting beside Lisa this morning), Thomas, Lisa, and Lorcan, having just finished their last class of the morning.

"Yes, why do you shout his name as if it's some kind of disease?" Rose asked suspiciously, grabbing her goblet of pumpkin juice. Thomas and Albus eyed each other wearily.

"You really have a thing for Seekers don't you?" Albus chuckled. Rose's cheeks immediately flushed a dark red and she held her goblet up high on her face so it would be harder to notice. Lisa, however, did not miss a thing and she stifled a giggle.

_A thing for Seekers? Okay, so that probably means Damien's a Seeker...but why did he use Seeker in plural form?_

"I don't understand what you mean by that." Rose muttered, her voice hollow as it reverberated inside her half-empty goblet. Lisa could not hold in her giggle any longer.

"You should know that Damien Byrne is the star Seeker and Captain for Ravenclaw." She explained. "And he was apparently supposed to be this year's seventh year prefect for Ravenclaw too, but he gave the badge to Mina because he knew that she knew she wanted the position."

"Are you allowed to do that? I didn't know…" Albus trailed off, stroking his chin. Lisa playfully hit him on the shoulder.

Rose's eyes felt like they were going to bulge out of their skull. She turned to Lorcan for help, but he shrugged.

"He's basically like the Cedric Diggory of our time, except he's in Ravenclaw. He's a nice fellow, always wanting to help out people when it looked like they needed it. Tops all of his classes. Doesn't like taking the spotlight." He said. Rose shook her head, still obviously bewildered.

According to what they were saying, Damien was _perfect_, and she had him as her Halloween Ball date. Out of all the girls in Hogwarts she got the one single boy that did not seem like much of a prat-

"Hello." That thick, syrupy voice crept up from behind and it made her jump so violently that she nearly fell off of her bench. Lisa was giggling again and the boys were shaking their heads in disbelief. Albus, however, was smiling to himself as he did so.

"O-oh, Damien, how unexpected of you-" Rose stuttered, and she automatically scooted down on the bench so he could sit. Damien smiled (she felt her stomach flop a few times), noticing the small but significant movement, and sat down beside her. Lisa placed a hand over her mouth so her giggling would not be so obvious.

"Hey Byrne, whatcha been up to?" Thomas asked casually.

"Just got back from a quick lunch Quidditch practice. Thought the team needed a little bit of work for the game next week." Damien replied. The boys then fell into an engaging conversation about Quidditch, which Lisa and Rose did not take care to join in. The girls edged away from them so they could start their own little conversation. Rose shook her head again, still in denial. Lisa smiled at her friend, clearly amused.

"Still can't believe you're going to the ball with Cedric Diggory's reincarnation?" She asked. Rose laughed nervously in a vain attempt to hide her bashfulness, but the curse of the Weasley Blush was unfortunately unavoidable.

"Oh, don't say that! At least not around him." She whispered. Lisa could not help but giggle again.

"You're a funny one, Rosie."

--

Holden wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. He had just come back from Divination, which was all the way at the top of the school, and now he had just arrived at the Slytherin common room, which was deep down in the dungeons, a total opposite of the Divination tower. He was surely getting a workout just from walking from class to class.

He pushed the door to his dormitory open and made his way over to his bed. He was exhausted and he had a spare period before Defence Against the Dark Arts, so he decided to take a short nap. He sat on the edge of his bed and proceeded to pull off his shoes when he heard a loud hissing noise. He jumped, first thinking it was a snake, but he strained his hearing, and surely enough the hissing noise came around again.

"Psst! Zabini!"

Holden raised a questionable eyebrow; that hissing sounded a lot like-

He circled over to Scorpius' unoccupied bed, where he first heard the hissing sound. He dropped to his knees and peeked underneath.

"Malfoy, is that you?"

Surely enough, he found a very frightened looking Scorpius Malfoy lying flat on his stomach under his bed; Holden could not see much because it was dark underneath.

"What on earth are you doing? Come out from under there!" Holden reached out and grabbed one of Scorpius' arms, but for some reason it seemed like he was resisting.

"Wait, is she gone? Did you check if she was gone?" He sounded desperate and he probably would not leave his spot until he was absolutely sure whoever it was he was talking about was gone. Holden sighed and nodded.

"Yes, yes, she's gone-whoever she is-now get out from there!" He pulled him out from the shadows and into the greenish light of the common room. Under the light it was easier to see just how truly disheveled Scorpius looked; it seemed like he was under there for some time. His shirt was more wrinkled than usual and his tie was lopsided and he was covered in dust. His hair stuck up in odd angles, which not very surprising, but there were little specks of dust hanging from the tips of his platinum blond spikes. There was an almost haunted look in his eyes.

"You alright, mate? You look like you were run over by a Hippogriff." He pointed his wand at him and muttered a quick Dusting Charm. It helped Scorpius' appearance by the slightest.

"At this rate I'd rather be bloody _eaten _by a Hippogriff, if that was even possible. Tatia is driving me _insane_, literally up the walls!" He moved to sit on the end of his bed and cradled his head in his hands. "I'm suddenly regretting my decision."

Holden wound an arm around one of the bedposts and stared at the Head Boy, who seemed to be rocking back in forth. He was evidently disturbed by the half-Veela.

"What has she been doing to you since you asked her?" Holden asked. Scorpius shook his head as if it was something forbidden to talk about, but then he opened his mouth slightly and began to speak in a brittle voice, as if he was on the verge of breaking down.

"She's been bloody following me nonstop, trying to get my attention...at first it was flattering, sweet really, but then she just kept _appearing out of nowhere! _It bloody terrified me; I've been almost literally keeping an eye open at night just in case she doesn't walk in here...you know how we don't have that stupid charm on our dorms like the girls do…."

He looked up at Holden; Holden noticed that there were slightly purplish shadows under his grey eyes, as if he had gotten into a bad fight. Scorpius shook his head and absently began pulling at his hair, which made it look even spikier than before.

"Well, you kind of brought it upon yourself, if you think about it hard enough. She's been fancying you since she came here and all you've been doing was giving her the cold shoulder. She's giving you nearly five years worth of affection, mate. Don't you think that's worth something? Plus she's a bloody Veela; you don't see that everyday don't you?" Holden exclaimed, and Scorpius groaned. He leaned back to lie on his bed.

"I don't know, Zabini...she's a handful, I'm telling you. She's nice to look at, I understand-believe me, I really do-but she's going to be the death of me." He croaked pathetically. Holden rolled his eyes. Scorpius was obviously being overdramatic; how could he say that Tatia Schultz was a _handful? _That girl was a goddess in all her right!

"You kind of don't have a choice for now, Malfoy. You said you'd take her to the ball, which is only two days away, and it would be impolite to ditch her now don't you think?"

At the mention of the Halloween Ball, Scorpius groaned twice as loud. He rolled over on his stomach and rubbed his eyes with his knuckles.

"Let's just drop the subject for now-I'm too tired for this. What time is it, can I stick in a nap before class?" He searched for a clock. Holden sighed in defeat and nodded. After looking at Scorpius, he did not feel tired anymore.

"Yeah, you have an hour and a half, give or take. We've got DADA next, just so you know." He answered jadedly as he unwound his arm from the bedpost. Scorpius muttered a few words to him but his voice was too low to hear clearly. Shaking his head, Holden left the room. As soon as he closed the door behind him…

"Hello Holden." The sweet sing-song voice filled his ears and he had to retain his grip on the door handle to keep himself from falling down. Holden swung his head towards the source of the sound, the music.

"Tatia." He greeted with a short nod. He knew she was here for Scorpius, but he could not stop his heart from hammering.

"Do you know where Scorpius is? Is he in there?" She asked eagerly, peeking over his shoulder, though the door was closed. Holden gulped and shook his head.

"No, no, I believe he has a class now-"

"No, I'm pretty sure he has spare period." She interjected sweetly.

_How does she know?_

"Oh-well um, he's not in our dormitory. I was just there." He replied nervously. Tatia cocked her head to the side and he felt his insides churn.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Tatia's face fell and he suddenly felt like wrenching the door open and exposing Scorpius just so he could see her smile again, but he resisted the temptation. Instead he shrugged his shoulders indifferently and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Best try the Great Hall. Maybe he's having lunch or something." He suggested nonchalantly.

"Oh, alright. Thank you, Holden." And with that she gracefully loped out of view. Holden rubbed his eyes to make sure his imagination was not conjuring up anything.

"Veelas," He muttered, and began to make his way down the stairs.

--

It was the day before the much anticipated Halloween Ball now, and everyone was already getting into the holiday spirit. Talks of costumes, candy, and Halloween pranks (Filch was sure to get a handful of troublemaking students tomorrow night, that was certain) were scattered all over Hogwarts, hovering over the air like a thick smog. Speaking of weather, it had gotten significantly colder in the past few weeks, and the leaves had faded into rich, abundant colours of reds, yellows, and oranges, along with a splash of brown and russet. The air had an icy sting to it, but it was not very strong, and the sun was always out, prominent against a bright blue sky.

Rose was sitting under the usual beech tree, continuing on her and Scorpius' Veritaserum report with her bubbling cauldron by her thigh. They had gotten together last night and agreed not to do so again today; they were going to put off their nightly Veritaserum expeditions until after the ball. He had already finished his part of the report, so all she had to do was write hers and they were finished-the writing part of the assignment, of course. They had finished adding all of the necessary ingredients to their Veritaserum, so all they had to do was stir it every once in awhile. The ladle in the cauldron was stirring by itself; she Charmed it to do so.

There had been a lot of tension between the two Heads lately, ever since that odd discussion they had in the common room that night, with him asking who she was going to go to the ball with. In the days that followed they hardly spoke, only in short, business-like tones, and with barely any eye contact (though she swore she still felt Scorpius' eyes on her when she was not looking). Head duty was just as awkward; they would separate, wandering off in the stony corridors of Hogwarts, immersed in their own thoughts, and then when they met up in the Great Hall like they usually did they found themselves lost for words; they would only just realize that they had spent their time thinking about each other.

_Honestly, what's there to think about when it comes to him? He's a foulmouthed, nosy, rotten little toerag, just another stupid Malfoy. I pray his sister won't end up like him._

She began to write a little more furiously, her hand zipping across the page so quickly it almost looked blurred. Her neat, cursive writing slowly began to change into jagged, cramped, angry spikes.

"A little busy with Potions, I see?"

Rose jerked in shock and let out a little squeal; Damien Byrne was standing a few feet away from her, his neatly combed hair untouched by the chilly autumn wind and his blue and bronze scarf billowing gracefully. He walked a little closer to her, his hands in his pockets and his smile as alluring as usual. She wondered how he managed to keep sneaking up on her like that.

"Hm, Veritaserum eh? Paired up with Scorpius Malfoy, I'm not surprised. At least you've got someone who's been keeping up with you; I've got Todd Rowle as my partner, and as you might know he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer."

Rose chortled shyly as she tried to find her voice; she cleaned up a little of her surrounding area, shoving her books into her bag and making sure the cauldron was not splashing immature Veritaserum anywhere.

"You're always hanging around us Gryffindors, Damien. Secretly wished you were one?" She asked with a smile; she relaxed a little and scooted over so he could sit down on the soft grass. The Ravenclaw boy laughed (she stiffened a little; she had never made him laugh before, at least not like that) and moved to sit beside her.

"Lorcan Scamander's always with you. Why not pick on him?" He asked, his dark eyes twinkling.

"'Cause he's a prefect, that's why." She replied teasingly, and Damien pretended to look appalled.

"Ouch. Good one though." He picked up one of the pages to her Veritaserum report and held it gingerly in his hands, though he did not seem to be reading it. "So, are you excited for the ball tomorrow night?"

Rose's pulse began to accelerate at the mention of the Halloween Ball; her hands began to feel clammy and she pressed them against the grass.

"Of course I am! I mean, well, usually these things aren't my, uh, kind of um...thing...but this being my last year here and everything, I think I'm just going to make the best of it." She paused for a minute; she felt her cheeks and ears growing uncomfortably hot. "And plus, I don't have to go through the night alone, so that's always something to look forward to as well."

Damien then gave her the most amazing smile she had ever seen in her entire life; she stared at him for as long as she possibly could without making the situation awkward. He looked so perfect just sitting there, with the wind blowing through his clothes, his dark intriguing eyes calling out to her…

"I could've said the exact same thing." His words made her smile back, but it could not amount to his. A moment of silence elapsed between them, and they spent it all just staring at each other, waiting, anticipating. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest; what was going to happen between them tomorrow night? Oh bloody hell, what was going to happen between them in the next minute, the next second? _Right now?_

"OI! BYRNE! THAT YOU?" A bellowing voice echoed throughout the grounds, cutting clear through the harsh wind. Rose broke out into a string of curse words (all muttered under her breath of course) and Damien strained his eyes into the distance. He waved to somebody for a minute, and then turned to Rose.

"Sorry, I think that's one of my Chasers. Probably wants a word with me about one of our Quidditch strategies or something. I'll talk to you after dinner, alright?" He leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek; Rose's eyes widened considerably. "See you then." He gave her one last blinding smile and stood up to meet his fellow Ravenclaw. Rose absently placed a hand on the spot where his lips touched her just previously. She felt dizzy, faint. The Weasley Blush was attacking her with relative ease.

"See you." She whispered, but he was already gone.

--

_She'll never get me in here, she can't get in. I've got her this time._

A frantic looking Scorpius was sitting in the middle of one of the boys' change rooms by the Quidditch pitch; though the place smelled like sweat and grass and there were old, soiled practice shirts lying on the benches, it was like heaven to him.

He knew Tatia could not get him here; in here he was safe. He already tried hiding in the boys lavatories; he shook his head, not wanting to recall just exactly _how_ she managed to get him out. In here the environment was probably just as clean as that gigantic oaf Hagrid's shack he called a house; a half-Veela would be repulsed to walk in here.

He skillfully kicked a pile of mouldy shirts aside and sat down on the closest bench. He took in the silence, the lovely silence of the dirty change room, and closed his eyes in ecstasy. He could not remember the last time he felt this peaceful.

_Knock, knock._

There was a sharp rapping on the wooden door. Scorpius' eyes widened in sheer horror and he shrunk against the wall.

"Is there anybody in there? Hello? Scorpius? Are you in there?" Her melodious voice was muffled against the door, but it was still easy to recognize. Swearing audibly, he scanned the room, trying to find an exit.

_So much for isolated bliss, _He thought grudgingly. He noticed another door and pulled at the knob; it was locked. He grabbed his wand from his back pocket, muttered _Alohomora,_ and wrenched it open; he felt the cool breeze on his face and he realized he was on the perfectly manicured lawn of the Quidditch pitch.

"Hah, think you can get me, well think-" He broke out in a jog, planning to run clear across the pitch so he could leave the other way, but when he turned around, he almost ran straight into Tatia. He stumbled forward, collapsing on his knees. Tatia giggled; his ears rang with the sound.

"There you are, silly. What were you doing in that old change room? C'mon, we have spare period now!" She pulled him up by the arm, laughing as she did so. Scorpius, who looked downright miserable, tried his best to put on a smile.

_No, no, no, no, no. What have I done?_

"Where would you like to go, Scorpius?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. He gulped and tugged at his collar, finding it hard to breathe.

_Bloody shirt, this thing's at least two sizes too small, I swear…_

"U-um, doesn't matter. Up to you." He answered shortly, his eyes focused on the school. It was hard to resist eye contact with her, especially when she had those tantalizing hazel irises…

"Let's sit under that-oh never mind, it's occupied." Tatia's head was turned towards the lake, but she swiftly turned around to face him again. Scorpius looked over her (he was a head-maybe even a bit more-taller than she was) head to see what she was talking about. Rose Weasley was sitting by herself, doing what she does best of course. He frowned; she should not be alone all the time-

"Oh, we're coming up to the school now."

As they approached the grounds, Scorpius caught sight of a small group of Ravenclaws sitting by the courtyard. He smirked; it was the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. They were probably trying to set up some kind of strategy to take him and his Slytherins down next week. He noticed the team's captain, Damien Byrne, sitting in the midst of them all.

"Figuring out the least painful way to take a loss, Byrne?" Scorpius asked tauntingly as he and Tatia were close enough for them to hear. Tatia giggled; the Ravenclaws stopped talking and they all slowly turned to face him. Damien pushed through the group to step in front.

"Would've thought it was you, Malfoy. Not smart of you to say something when you're outnumbered." The Ravenclaws behind him broke out in laughter, and Scorpius could not help but join in as well. They sounded so ridiculous. Beside him, Tatia was pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Boys." He heard her mutter. Inside he felt triumphant; for once he was doing something that was not pleasing her.

"Numbers don't matter in this case. I can still hex the lot of you with my eyes closed, and I know you all know that." Scorpius shot back, his eyes flashing. All of the Ravenclaws except for Damien stepped back a bit, alarmed by the threat and partially because they knew it was the truth; Defence Against the Dark Arts was Scorpius' best subject. It was something he was actually _nearly_ beating Rose at; Albus, unfortunately, was topping the both of them. Damn him and his famous father.

"I don't want to start a fight-" Damien started.

"Because you know there's gonna be one when we beat you next week, right?" Scorpius interjected, sneering. Lysander Scamander stepped to Damien's side, his eyes scathing.

'Sod off, Malfoy. C'mon Byrne, he's not worth it. Let's go to the common room to talk." He placed a hand on Damien's back and pushed him back towards the group of Ravenclaws. They slowly departed, shuffling back into the school. Scorpius stood tall, feeling like he won fifty fights against Lord Voldemort himself. Tatia shook her head, but she was smiling, clearly amused.

"Alright, you've had your fun. Can we have mine now?" She grabbed him by the elbow and led him inside the school. "You know you'll beat them for sure, Scorpius."

He could not help but agree with her. He was completely unaware, however, that the entire time he was quarreling with Damien, that a pair of angry navy blue eyes were staring straight into his shoulder blades.

--

"I feel stupid."

"Nonsense, Rosie! You look beautiful!"

"Beautiful doesn't exist in my vocabulary when it comes to describing me."

The night of the ball had finally arrived, and Rose, Lily, Mandy, Jane, and Lisa were seated in the Gryffindor common room by the fireplace, poring over each other's costumes. Lily was going as a fairy, Mandy as a zombie (she went all out to look like one; everyone thought she was really one of the undead the moment she came out of her dormitory; Lisa almost hexed her), Jane was going as Marie Antoinette, and Lisa was dressed up as a princess from the Medieval times-at least that was what Rose thought she was going as. They all looked very excited and they talked in quick, ecstatic tones. Rose, however, was slumped in her armchair, looking at the time every now and then. Her heart sped up when the clock ticked a menacing 7:50. Lily squealed and grabbed her cousin's wrist.

"Well, what are you waiting for? He's probably out there right now. Go, go!"

She pushed Rose out of the portrait hole and waved goodbye, whispering a quick "Good luck, see you there!" as the portrait swung to a close. Rose gulped and turned around. She nearly jumped.

"You look beautiful." Damien smiled, stepping out of the shadows. He was wearing a plaid shirt, jeans, a large brass belt buckle, and leather boots that chimed whenever he walked. He was wearing a dark brown cowboy hat. She blushed; an Irish cowboy as her date...this could not get any better.

"T-thanks. You look great yourself." He smiled and held his arm out to her; she looped her own around his and they began walking downstairs towards the Great Hall. They made a little bit of small talk on their way down.

"My parents work at the bank." He said as they turned a corner.

"Oh, Gringotts? Whereabouts? My uncle Bill works there too." Rose replied as the Great Hall came into view. It was pumping with music; the bass was rattling inside her ribcage. Damien raised an eyebrow at her, confused at first, but then he laughed.

"What-? Oh, no! I'm Muggle born. My parents work at the bank-a Muggle bank." He replied with a broad smile. Flushing furiously, Rose laughed along with him. They walked into the Great Hall, but it certainly did not look like the Great Hall they were accustomed to. The walls were covered with velvety black hangings, covering every inch except for the tall windows. The ceiling reflected a clear night sky; a full moon was shining down on the large dance floor. There were many round tables surrounding the floor as well; streaming lights of different colours pulsed everywhere in rhythm of the music. Students from various years were scattered around the hall, all wearing very convincing costumes.

"This place looks so different!" Rose shouted over the music. Damien nodded and turned around.

"Hey, it's Albus and Lisa!"

Rose whirled around to face her cousin; so he decided to ditch Mina in favour of Lisa. She smiled as they approached them; Albus looked almost unrecognizable under his suit of armour, but if it were not for his brilliant green eyes, even visible in the dark, she would have mistaken him for someone else.

"Hey guys! Does this place look wicked or what?" Albus yelled; his voice was slightly muffled under his knight's helmet. They all nodded enthusiastically; Lisa jerked her head towards the dance floor.

"Let's go!"

Rose stiffened at the mention of dancing, but it was already too late. Damien was pulling her with him, laughing as he followed Lisa and Albus towards the dance floor.

"Damien, I-I can't dance!" She shrieked. They were in the centre of the dance floor; it was hard to breathe with everyone around her dancing. Albus was trying to move with the music, but his suit of armour made it quite difficult. Lisa was laughing at him as she swayed along. Damien was moving too. He grabbed Rose's wrists and forced her to move, albeit gently of course. He leaned in close and her heart skipped a beat.

"Nobody here really knows how to; you just move with the music. That's what dancing's all about; you'll only feel stupid if you're doing it by yourself with everyone watching." He drew back and smiled. Feeling a little more confident, Rose smiled back shyly and began to sway, twisting her body and moving her arms. She felt like a disabled Whomping Willow. Damien laughed and took hold of her again, but this time he laced his fingers with hers.

"That's it, now you're getting it!" The tempo of the song increased and they began to move faster. She felt like she was in some kind of crazy dream; she could not stop laughing. The colours were swirling everywhere in a wild tornado; people's voices blended together and sounded like utter nonsense.

The only person she could see and hear clearly was the person dancing with her, hands clasped together as if to never break apart.

--

"This place is bloody ridiculous." Porter Parkinson muttered as they entered the Great Hall. The music was too loud, the room was too dark, and the streaming lights were bound to give at least one person a seizure. Scorpius trudged into the room, Tatia excitedly skipping at his side, and found the closest unoccupied seat, ripping off his mask as he did so (the bloody thing refused to stay on for more than five minutes; it would always slip off anyway). Tatia looked down at him, disappointed.

"I wanted to dance," She complained. He waved her off dismissively.

"It's a free country." He muttered. Tatia glared at him (his bad mood seemed to have dispelled her Veela charm) and stalked off towards the dance floor. He sighed and rested his head on the table.

"Aren't you going to join her, Malfoy?" Holden asked. He was making his way towards the dance floor with his date. Scorpius shook his head without looking up at him.

"Nope. I've got _Head Duty, _remember?" He said in a bitter tone. Holden rolled his eyes.

"Some excuse. Later then." He disappeared into the throng of dancing, costume-clad students. Scorpius eyed him wearily, muttering something about how stupid the dance was, until he caught sight of a certain bronze-haired Weasley dancing in the centre.

She was wearing a floaty, simple white dress; it was strapless and the skirt flowered out, ending just past her knees. She was wearing strappy silver sandals and there were a pair of feathery white wings coming out from her back. A magically conjured halo was floating just above her head, gleaming as white and bright as the full moon above. She left her wavy, perfect bronze hair as it was, rippling down her back, jumping wildly as she spun and moved with the music. She was laughing and talking to her cousin and that Longbottom girl as she danced. Damien Byrne was with them too.

_Damien Byrne?_

Scorpius leaned forward and squinted; by the looks of it Potter and Longbottom were dates, since they were dancing so close to one another. Rose and Byrne seemed to be doing the same.

_"So...you're going alone."_

_"That's the plan."_

The discussion they had in the prefect common room played over and over in his head. He felt a raging fury bubbling inside of him and he clutched the tablecloth with a strained fist, but he did not know why he was feeling so angry in the first place.

_She lied! She bloody lied, she said she was going alone-_

_Oh, what does it matter to you? It's not like you care._

_Ugh, and out of all people, it has to be that dratted Byrne bloke!_

He shook his head and tried averting his gaze from the dance floor, but it was no use. He could not stop staring at Rose and that blasted Ravenclaw, whose costume looked disastrous, by the way. What the bloody hell he trying to be?

Then, her head turned. Ocean blue collided straight into mercury grey.

Not able to stand her, or even himself any longer, Scorpius stood up and turned around to leave, not forgetting to grab his half-mask.

--

Rose raised an eyebrow; the music began to slow down to some sort of ballad, and she felt a warm pair of arms slip around her waist. She flushed and wound her arms around Damien's neck, but she did not look him in the face. She was staring at the entrance to the Great Hall; Scorpius Malfoy was storming out.

"What's wrong?" Damien asked, his voice husky; they were both breathing hard from the fast dancing they were doing for the past hour or so. Rose shook her head, but she was still frowning.

"It's nothing." She replied, and they continued to dance in silence. She swore she just saw Scorpius staring at her with what looked like contempt. The contempt part, she was not so surprised about, but what really got her was the fact that he was sitting at a table, _alone,_ staring at her straight in the face.

She rested her chin on Damien's shoulder and looked around the dance floor; she found Tatia wound up with a very nervous looking Hufflepuff boy. Rose's frown deepened; maybe he Tatia ditched him? But who would ditch Scorpius Malfoy-except herself of course-

"Sorry, I'll be back." Rose mumbled quickly, breaking free of Damien's grip. The Ravenclaw looked confused for a moment, but then he nodded in understanding.

"I'll be sitting down with some punch for you." He said, and she smiled before dashing off. She did not even know why she felt so compelled to chase after him; she guessed it was because she assumed she was the reason why he was sitting by himself.

She scratched her head, wondering where he had run off to.

"Ditched Byrne, have you?" His scathing voice came from behind and she jumped; whirling around she came face to face with a very handsomely costumed Scorpius Malfoy. It looked like he was attending a formal dance instead of a costume party. He was wearing what looked like a black suit with a silky black vest and a white dress shirt, complete with a matching black tie. He was wearing shiny black dress shoes. A swooping, almost ominous looking cape was wrapped around his shoulders. His dark attire was a sharp contrast to hers. In his hands he held a white mask that looked like it was only capable of covering half of his face; she realized that he came dressed as the Phantom of the Opera.

"Phantom of the Opera? Isn't that a Muggle musical?" She asked, pointing towards his mask. He shrugged.

"Mother's a fan of them." He muttered, and his eyes narrowed. "You said you were going alone."

"There were last-minute changes." Rose replied in a clipped voice. "What does it matter to you?"

"You bloody lied to me! You said you were going alone, and you show up at this damn thing with that git, that stupid Ravenclaw idiot who thinks he's so good at everything-"

How dare he insult Damien? She felt her hands ball into fists.

"Don't say that! Damien's ten times better than you are, and more than half of the school's population would probably agree with me! Stop trying to make people look like they're so insignificant compared to you, Malfoy, because it's not working. Just because your father's some big rich Ministry head who can pave the way for you-"

"MY FATHER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!" Scorpius' bellowing voice echoed throughout the empty hallways; thankfully the music was loud enough to drown it out. Nobody else seemed to notice. Rose stepped back, surprised at his sudden outburst. His eyes were wild and his face was contorted in anger. His fists were shaking; the mask he was holding was lying absently by his feet. He dropped it in his frustration.

"You're just like everyone else. Everyone in this bloody universe thinks that I'm going to take after him. They're all expecting me to grow up to be some stupid big-headed, pampered, boasting idiot who thinks he can rule the world with a nice white lie or two. You don't know how hard it's been for me to live with that. You have no idea." His words were grating against her nerves; Rose had never seen him this angry before. She stood there in stunned silence, drinking in every word.

"I admit I was blindly following in his footsteps in the beginning, but I've only just realized how wrong he's been his entire bloody life. I thought you, since you're supposedly the cleverest witch after your mother, would be able to see that. But I guess I'm wrong." He spat, and he spun on his heel, not even bothering to pick up his mask. Rose reached out to him, but she did not know what to say.

"Mal-Scorpius...wait-" Her voice was brittle, fragile. He was too far away to hear her. Feeling horribly remorseful, she sunk to her knees, her eyes stinging with tears.

"Today's his birthday too." She looked over her shoulder; Holden Zabini, dressed to look like an Azkaban prisoner. She opened her mouth slightly as tears rolled down her face.

Scorpius Malfoy was born on October 31st: Halloween, and the day Harry Potter's parents were killed by Voldemort. She turned to face the empty hallway that Scorpius walked off to after their argument, and cried even harder.

He really had a lot going against him, and she just realized that now.


	10. Desperation

_A/N: So I'm back from my vacation. Thanks to all of you who are reading this, and I really do appreciate your reviews. You're all great, really._

_Oh, and to answer chewing-gum-addicted's concern, I'm pretty sure our Rosie's a whiz at Transfiguration, just as she is at everything else of course. I just never found the time to slot that fact in yet. Maybe it'll be included later? Who knows..._

_Anyways, get ready for a bit of dialogue._

**Desperation**

The weekend after the Halloween Ball seemed like it was never going to end. Rose's bad mood dragged the time, making minutes seem like hours. She thought that time away from classes (particularly the classes she had with Scorpius) and everything else school-related would ease her mind a bit but she was proved wrong. Albus, her friends, her siblings, and her other cousins were all very concerned for her, but they knew the could not do anything to help since she would just push them away anyways. She spent most of her days avoiding the world under the beech tree by the lake, distracting herself with homework or a good book. At night she refused to talk to anybody, even Carleigh Brown, Lisa Longbottom, and Lusha Patil, whom she shared a dormitory with. She never wanted to talk about what happened that night; only Albus knew exactly what went on since he walked out of the Great Hall ten minutes after she did (he originally had a craving for some candy and was looking for Hugo, since he reportedly had a huge stash in his jacket pocket that night) and caught her crying on the floor with Holden Zabini looming over her with his arms crossed, a stoic expression on his chiseled features. The green eyed, black haired Gryffindor would always watch her from afar as she did her homework alone under the beech tree, or when she was sitting by herself in the common room, staring mournfully into the fire.

Albus Potter decided that he had had it with his best friend/cousin's behaviour. On the Sunday afternoon after the Halloween Ball he marched straight up to the beech tree, his head held up high and his hands clenched into tight fists. Rose was sitting by herself as usual, doodling on a scrap piece of parchment. A small pile of books lay by her side; she had just finished this weekend's homework.

"Rose?" Albus asked, and he was met with the darkest shade of blue he had ever seen in his entire life. Rose blinked at him slowly, as if she did not recognize him.

"Oh, hello Al. What brings you here?" She asked in a faraway, dreamy tone. He frowned; she sounded a lot like his and her parents' good friend, Luna Scamander.

"Cut that out, will you?" He muttered, and sat cross-legged in front of her. She continued to stare at him as if he were an interesting television program. "You've been acting like you were hit in the head with a Bludger for nearly two days now. You know what happened that night wasn't your-"

"It _was_ my fault, Al. Why can't you see that?" Rose's voice was now unnaturally high pitched; her eyes were quivering with tears. "I instigated all of this, I mentioned the fact that his father was-was-" And she broke down in hysterical sobs. Albus sighed and leaned forward to catch his cousin in a tight, comforting hug. He rubbed the small of her back in slow circular motions.

"All this time I had been accusing him for being such a prat-which he is, really-but it's not really his fault for being one! His father, it's his father's fault! _Not his! _That's why he hates it when people compare him to his father and grandfather, or when they make reference to his family! He wants to be different from them, Albus, but people have been against him ever since the day he was born. He was never given a chance…" Rose pulled away from him and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Albus took out his wand and conjured a hankie. She accepted it with a watery "Thanks." and dabbed at the corner of her eyes.

"So you're saying that all of these years he's been a git to our family, it's not really his fault?" Albus asked, confused. Rose sniffled and nodded.

"Y-yes, basically. Ever since Scorpius came into existence people have been assuming against him. Do you know when he was born?"

Albus scratched his chin with the tip of his wand.

"Erm, why on earth would I need to know that? Unless it's a secret password for something really important-"

"He was born on October 31st, Albus. _Halloween..._" She started, and eyed him carefully, as if she was expecting him to continue. Albus shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, so you fought with him on his birthday. So what?"

Rose smacked her forehead with her palm.

"Good God, Albus, out of all people you should know this! October 31st is also the anniversary of your grandparents'...you know." She answered her own question in an exasperated tone. Albus' jaw dropped.

"Seriously? Wow, I think I've learned something new today. What does it have to do with everyone being against Malfoy though?" He asked, and Rose sighed.

"Think about it. Who did Scorpius' father and grandfather support during the war?"

"Voldemort-weren't Draco and Lucius Malfoy Death Eaters?"

"Mmhmm. If you paid any attention during History of Magic, after Voldemort's defeat a lot of his followers believed that he didn't truly die and that he was going to come back again, just in another form. So when Scorpius was born on the anniversary of James and Lily Potters' murder-"

"They assumed that he was Voldemort in Malfoy form?"

Rose nodded, relieved that Albus was finally catching on.

"Exactly. They probably thought he was his reincarnation or something. Ridiculous, isn't it? So not only did Draco and Malfoy raise Scorpius to become a Muggle-born hating, snobbish-"

"Fat headed, idiotic, foulmouthed-"

"Thanks, Al. Anyways, basically Draco and Lucius weren't the only ones who created this stereotype for Scorpius. Former Death Eaters who anticipated Voldemort's return held him in high regard as well. This obviously would stir up some controversy with the public, and it would lead to automatic shunning."

Albus plucked a Sugar Quill from his bag and began to suck on it. Rose eyed him questionably.

"Didn't have my dessert after lunch-Hugo practically inhaled all of the pies. So all of this Death Eater stuff probably got into Malfoy's head and that explains his dratty behaviour. Did you want one?"

Rose shook her head and Albus continued sucking on his Sugar Quill.

"Draco probably told him about my mother's parentage, and who doesn't know about my father and how he's known as your dad's sidekick-"

"Hey, he's not a sidekick. You've heard their Auror stories; your dad saved my dad's arse loads of times!"

"Well a lot of people don't know that, do they? Anyways, a child is willing to believe anything their parents tell them, so Scorpius obviously took after his father's views when he started school."

"You really thought about this, haven't you Rosie?" Albus was making puckering noises from the Sugar Quill as he talked; Rose shook her head in disgust.

"As he grew older though, he probably became disillusioned with his Draco's point of view and decided that being hateful towards everything wasn't going to get him anywhere, which is the truth really." She continued, ignoring Albus' last comment. "That's why he doesn't bully me as much as he used to, though he doesn't back out when the opportunity arises."

"So what you're saying is that Malfoy grew up...a bit." Albus said. Rose nodded.

"Yes, basically. He wants to differ from his father and grandfather but it's quite difficult when the world has been turned against you since the day you were born." Her voice began to falter and Albus thought she was going to break down in tears again. "I feel so juvenile for not realizing this earlier."

Albus frowned and patted his cousin's back, not completely sure what to say. He still had different views on the Malfoy family despite what Rose was saying, though he understood her point. His parents always warned him and his siblings to steer clear of the snooty looking pureblood family, and his father would always break out into rants on how pompous and narrow-minded Draco Malfoy was. He assumed that his son would be no different.

Draco's young daughter, Lyra Malfoy, did not seem so bad though; he ran into her one time on his way to class and she did not give him the trademark Malfoy glare; instead her eyes widened (probably astonished at the fact that she ran into The Boy Who Lived's lookalike son) and mumbled a shy apology before shuffling away. He finished up his Sugar Quill and turned to look at Rose. She was sniffling again and her eyes were slowly reddening. He wondered where the hankie went.

"I don't think you should put the blame on yourself, Rosie. Our parents have been putting us off on how bad the Malfoys were since we can remember, and it's not like we're the only ones who've been...erm-_brainwashed_ by our parents. Most of the school population's probably against their family too." Albus reassured, and his shoulders relaxed when a small smile tugged at the corners of his cousin's lips. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and began stuffing her books into her bag.

"I know, but still, the way he was yelling...you could tell he's getting tired of all of this. It's prejudice, I'm telling you. I know Scorpius is somewhat of an improvement on his father, even though he's only started improving recently. I think we should give him a chance to prove himself." She said. Albus' green orbs widened.

_"Give him a chance? _You're really stretching it, Rosie. You want me to become _friends_ with him? I'd rather-"

"You don't have to go _that_ far, Al. When I say give him a chance, I mean don't think he's just a typical snobbish egotistical Malfoy who shuns Muggle borns and-" She wrinkled her nose in disgust. _"Blood traitors. _And don't compare him to his family anymore. He doesn't like it."

Albus' shoulders sagged; Rose stood up with her bag over her shoulder and eyed the school in the distance. He followed suit.

"Yes, mum. Anything else?" He asked dully, and her sapphire irises narrowed.

"Oh, shut up. I just want to be nice." She pressed on. They began to walk towards the school. Albus could not help but smile to himself; he had a feeling there was another reason behind this, but she was not even aware of it herself.

"Didn't you say you were going to meet up with him one last time tomorrow night for that Potions assignment?"

Rose's smile faded at the mention of this; she was not ready to face him just yet. She did not even know if he was going to show up tomorrow, after what happened.

"Well, I have no choice really, since it's due the day after tomorrow. We don't have much to do though, just a few stirring and we're just about finished. The potion's mature enough." She eyed Albus wearily, who seemed to be trying to avoid her gaze. "What about your potion? Is it okay for Tuesday?"

Albus tugged at his tie and laughed nervously.

"Erm, well I think so...y'see, after I ditched Mina for Lisa, she hasn't really been talking to me…"

Rose's eyes widened in horror; Albus groaned, knowing this was going to come.

"Albus Severus Potter, do you _realize _when this is due? You can't let personal problems get in the way of your academics-"

He held his hands in front of her, motioning for her to stop the lecture.

"Yes, I know, I know, but believe me, I've been trying to get a hold of her for days now, but she just won't speak to me!" He then raised his head a little, looking a little proud of himself. "Besides, I've been sort of working on the potion myself. It's kind of easy, really."

Rose raised a questionable eyebrow. Albus was probably the worst Potions student in their year. In almost every potion they had to make, he either broke something, lost one of the ingredients (he once accidentally digested Hippogriff innards; she had no idea how he managed to do that), caused something to explode (or in some cases, implode), or simply just ruined the potion altogether. Sometimes she was kind of glad they did not have to pick partners in some assignments.

"I hope what you're saying is true." She said with a wry smile; he looked at her miserably.

"You really don't have much faith in me, don't you?" He muttered as they entered the school; they were welcomed with a rush of warm air. Rose threw her head back and laughed.

"Not in Potions." She said with a wink as they made their way towards Gryffindor Tower.

--

It was Monday evening, 7:30 p.m.

Scorpius Malfoy emerged from the depths of the Slytherin common room, looking as if he just had the worst day of his life. His mind was still reeling from the Halloween Ball, obviously. Nobody bothered to question him; Tatia Schultz was even wise enough to stray away for the time being. He spent most of his weekend holed up in the common room lounge, staring fiercely into the fireplace for hours at a time; Porter Parkinson once stood by his side for thirty minutes and he did not seem to notice. It was only until he shouted "Hey, Zabini! He hasn't blinked for ten minutes!" that Scorpius turned to give him a poisonous glare, silently telling Porter to go away. At night he did not speak to any of his dorm mates; today during class he was quiet and he did not even bother to raise his hand to answer any questions like he usually did. His temper worsened when he noticed that for some of his classes, he felt a pair of eyes on his back. It was not so much that somebody was staring at him that got him aggravated; it was the fact that he knew that those eyes were probably the darkest blue of blues, the kind that made you feel like you were drowning whenever you looked into them…

He found himself staring at the door to the prefects' common room. He had no idea how he got here, or why he even bothered coming in the first place. All they had to do was stir the damn thing, and that was a one-person job. Why could not she do it on her own? Was she that mentally incapable?

Sighing, he turned the doorknob and pushed on the shiny wood surface. She was sitting at the usual table with the bubbling cauldron in the centre. It looked like any other night they got together to work on the assignment, except for the fact that she looked like she was expecting to see Lord Voldemort drifting through the door instead of him. She looked nervous and her hands were slightly shaking; he could even see it from where he was standing, at the entrance. The fire made her hair look scarlet; he could see a light tinge of pink on her cheeks.

"H-hello, Scorpius." Her voice was brittle, almost desperate. He felt his anger slowly fading away into a dull throbbing pain in the centre of his chest; was this remorse he was feeling?

_Why would I be feeling sorry for her? She was the one that started all of this in the first place-_

_Maybe you're not pitying her. You're smart, aren't you? There are dozens of other things you could be feeling right now besides pity. It's not the only thing that makes you hurt inside._

He nodded curtly and made his way to the table in a few strides. He sat in his usual seat across from her and dropped his bag on the floor beside his chair. Linking his fingers together and setting his hands on the table, he stared hard at the cauldron between them, trying his best not to look up at her face. The silence was deafening; he knew that she could feel the tension as well as he could.

"So…" They both said simultaneously, and at that instant their eyes shot up towards each other. They only met for a split second, ocean and mercury. Scorpius turned his head towards the fire, his face uncomfortably warm, but he was certain it was not from the flames.

_Are you convinced that it isn't pity yet?_

"Sorry." They both said at the same time again, and he inwardly cursed himself. He cleared his throat and slowly began to turn his head back towards the table; she was staring downwards at her lap, her cheeks now splashed with a dark red. He also noticed that the skin around her eyes were puffy; was she crying earlier?

"U-um, I kind of started on the stirring; if you want to continue-"

"I'll do it." He stood up and grabbed the ladle, not because he wanted to do it, but for the sake of something to do. He pulled the cauldron towards him and began stirring the potion slowly; it was as clear as water now, and it did not smell like anything, exactly how like Veritaserum was supposed to be. He knew that he could just charm the ladle to stir itself, but he needed an excuse to not talk. She did not seem to mind.

_So why aren't you angry at her anymore? You spent the past few days seething over what she said._

_Shut up, shut up._

He could no longer stare straight into the cauldron; the steam was making his eyes water. He pushed it away.

"I think it's done. It doesn't smell like anything anymore, and it's clear." He said emotionlessly. She sniffled (he stiffened; he did not like being around crying people) and leaned forward to look into the cauldron. She then retreated back into her seat, looking miserable still, but she also seemed satisfied.

"Y-yes, I think so too. Should be ready for tomorrow then." She still sounded like she was going to break down in a fit of sobs, and it made him a little nervous. He realized that they still had Head duty to do, and he groaned inwardly. He plucked his badge from his pocket and pinned it to his shirt.

"You don't have to do it tonight." She said quietly, and he stared at her with a raised eyebrow. She sniffled again and shook her head. "We both don't. The prefects are doing the rounds tonight, remember?"

A wave of relief surged through him, and it seemed to have passed onto her too, for the red on her cheeks faded somewhat and her shoulders seemed a little more relaxed than they were when he first arrived.

"Oh, right." He plucked the badge off of his robes and dropped it into his bag. They both got up at the same time; Rose tapped her wand on the cauldron and it disappeared as usual. They both silently made their way to the door, where Scorpius opened it and waited patiently for her to walk through. He had no excuse to be impolite.

"Thank you." She said with a watery smile; he cringed at how shiny her eyes looked. He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, then spun on his heel to begin his semi-long walk back to the Slytherin common room. He felt a pair of eyes on his shoulder blades.

"Scorpius?"

For the first time that night he noticed that she had been calling him by his first name. He turned around slowly, his wispy bangs falling in front of his eyes as he did so. She was standing a few feet away from him, and he half-expected her to break down in tears and go on a little watery rant about how she was sorry about what happened, but instead she seemed to be holding herself back, like she was silently refusing to give him what he was expecting. Instead shook her head, her small, sad smile never changing.

"Good night." Her voice was cracking and barely a whisper; it was a good thing the halls were wide enough for the sound to bounce off. He stood there in silence for a few tense moments and then nodded shortly before spinning around again. He began to walk a little faster now, the cold air cutting through him. He just wanted to get those eyes off of his back. It was making him feel a little strange.

But he wouldn't say uncomfortable.


	11. Think Happy Thoughts

_A/N: How can you possibly have a Harry Potter fanfic without The Boy Who Lived making a short cameo?_

**Think Happy Thoughts**

The next day came too soon. Scorpius was slumped in his usual armchair in the Slytherin common room that early Tuesday morning, not even bothering to make his way towards the Great Hall for breakfast. He felt too miserable to be hungry.

He did not feel like facing Rose today for some reason, though he knew he had at least two classes with her today: first there was that dreaded Potions, and then they had Defence Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon. The image of her sombre expression in the prefects' common room the other night replayed constantly in his head to the point where he did not even get a wink of sleep; his eyes were a little pink around the edges and there were slightly prominent purplish shadows under them as well. He lightly slapped his cheeks to wake himself up as he rose from his seat; though the common room was underground and he could not see the rising sun, he had a feeling class was soon approaching. Plus, he figured that even though he was not hungry, grabbing an apple to eat on the way to the dungeons would not hurt either.

Shouldering his bag, Scorpius trudged out of the Slytherin common room and started his long walk to the Great Hall. He tried to make his walk as lengthy as possible so he could have some sort of an excuse to be late for Potions, but then again being late would mean he would be the centre of attention for a few minutes. He quickened his pace and closed his eyes as he felt the comforting warmth of the sun heat his face. He opened them again as he approached the large double doors of the Great Hall, making long strides over to the Slytherin table: Holden, Porter, and Princeton were just about to leave for class.

"Class starting soon?" Scorpius asked casually as he plucked a Granny Smith apple from one of the fruit bowls. It made a loud, satisfying crunch the minute he sunk his teeth into it. Holden pulled the sleeve of his sweater back to look at his watch.

"In around five minutes or so." He said, and the four began to walk out of the light and into the darkness of the dungeons. People would have figured that after nearly seven years of living there, the Slytherin student body would have gotten used to the damp, dark environment of the dungeons, but a lot of things were definitely easier said than done. Scorpius automatically wrinkled his nose the minute the sun left him. By then he already finished his apple (he underestimated his appetite) and he carelessly tossed it over his shoulder, ignoring Princeton's disgusted protests.

"Ugh, horrible. Smells like fish down here." He muttered as the hall began to darken; Porter snickered lightly.

"Fish is an understatement, mate. Smelled like rotten, cursed, old-"

"We're here." Holden interrupted wisely, pushing the heavy wooden door open. Most of the class had already arrived, but Scorpius was sure they were not late, judging by Slughorn's usual humble expression; he usually soured when latecomers arrived. The four Slytherins moved quickly to their seats; Scorpius could not help but notice the pair of sapphires that were trained on him the entire time he was moving.

"Ah, just in time, boys! I'm excited to see what everyone's Veritaserum ended up as. Pair up, everyone; it's time to show me what you've got!" Slughorn clapped his hands together, and at once the class came to life; students rose from their seats to find their designated partners. Scorpius sat still for a few more seconds, stalling himself for whatever reason. Rose did not throw any sort of glare or shout out any kind of protest, so that was a good sign. _So far._

"Still half-asleep, Mister Malfoy? C'mon, get up and move beside Miss Weasley!" Slughorn's voice brought him back to his senses, and he stood up so quickly he nearly knocked over his chair. He was lucky the rest of the class was too busy to notice his fumble; he staggered over to Rose's side and plopped down beside her. There was a blank, emotionless expression on her face. She was probably waiting for further instruction. He wondered if she even noticed him coming here; maybe waving a hand in front of her face would get her attention-

"Alright, settle down, settle down. I know you're anxious to show me your wonderful (Albus groaned quite audibly at the back of the class) potions, so would you please present your cauldrons to me?"

Rose wordlessly brandished her wand, muttered something inaudble, and her little black cauldron _poofed! _into existence. The mature Veritaserum was clear, odourless, and still. Naturally, Slughorn made his way over to their table first. Rose still showed no sign of life; Scorpius was beginning to feel a little worried, though he kind of hated to admit it.

_"Excellent! _This is brilliant, brilliant Veritaserum, and I can tell just by looking at it-" Slughorn reached inside his robes and pulled out a small glass bottle with a cork stopper. He unstoppered it and scooped a bottleful of Veritaserum before plugging it again. He held it up in the air and examined it closely, closing one eye, "Merlin, this is the best Veritaserum I've seen! And created by _students_, I'm utterly flabbergasted!"

The class broke out into hushed, suspicious whispers; Scorpius ignored them and turned to face Rose to see her reaction, but as he expected, her face was still as blank as a roll of unused parchment. She simply sat there, arms by her sides, wand sitting idly on the table in front of her, her eyes staring indifferently at the wall across. She did not look like she was present, mentally speaking of course. Even though she was not on the brink of tears like she was last night, he had to admit that this was worse. At least last night he _knew _what she was feeling. The fact that he did not know kind of bothered him.

Slughorn took a few more minutes to examine everyone else's potions; when he was finished he instructed that the groups who had the mature, properly brewed Veritaserums (for safety measures, of course-so this excluded Albus, much to his chagrin) to try the potion out on each other. One person was to drink the potion while the other asked the questions that Slughorn had written on the board for them; after that they would write their observations. Everyone else had to resort to answering questions about properly making the potion from the textbook (Albus groaned even louder this time).

Scorpius frowned and scratched at his messy blond head; how was he going to get Rose to speak, to even crack a smile? It bothered him so much that she was not showing any expression at all; it would have even made him feel better if she was arguing with him right now. He stared hard at the still cauldron and came up with an idea.

"Hey, I hope you're listening, 'cause I've got an idea...kind of." He said, and he grabbed a medicine dropper that was lying on the table, along with the rest of his Potions equipment, "You're annoying when you're talking, but I didn't know it was possible for you to be even _more _annoying when you're _not_ talking. So here's what we're going to do: _I'll _take the potion, and _you'll _ask the questions. Got it?" He waved the medicine dropper in front of her face like a metronome, hoping he would get her attention. To his relief her eyes began to follow the medicine dropper, and she nodded. A shadow of a smile even appeared on her face. Feeling quite pleased with himself, he poked the Veritaserum with the dropper and then opened his mouth, letting in a drop or two. It was like water, tasteless and cold.

"Feel any different?" She spoke for the first time, and to his surprise her voice was back to its normal, business-like tone. He looked at her and noticed she was holding a clipboard in her hands, along with her usual scarlet plumed quill. He smirked, relieved that she was back to her irritating self.

"Nope, but we're gonna have to see about that. Go along with the questions then." He prompted, nodding towards the blackboard. She smiled, a little wider this time, and he felt his chest muscles twitch.

"Okay then-" She turned her head for a bit to glance at the blackboard; there were three lines of questions written there, "First question: what is your favourite colour?"

It only took him a fraction of a second to ponder that question.

"Dark blue." His eyes widened and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really? I thought you were more of a green person. Maybe it's because I've seen you in those Slytherin robes so much." She scribbled a few words onto her clipboard. Scorpius continued to stare at her in horror.

_Dark blue? DARK BLUE?_

He tried telling himself that his favourite colour was green, but the Veritaserum was too strong; it kept correcting him, insisting that his preferred colour was dark blue. He shook his head and Rose suppressed a giggle.

"Must be frustrating to argue with yourself." She said, and she smiled again, but this time it was wider, more genuine. He felt his stomach somersault a few times and he smirked back, trying to hide his uneasiness.

"Anyways, next question." Her brow creased for some reason, "This shouldn't be much of a shock. Who do you think will win the House Cup this year?"

"Ravenclaw." Scorpius' eyes widened again. So did Rose's. She looked like she was going to burst out laughing; a warm bubble began to inflate inside of him.

"Why on _earth_ would _you_, Scorpius Malfoy, a Slytherin, think that a house that doesn't have anything to do with snakes or cunningness or whatever would win the House Cup?" She spluttered, and she did not hold back her laughter this time. For some reason he did not feel the need to give her a snappy reply, or smack her in the face. He felt pretty good that she was laughing, actually.

"Um, 'cause they're smart, I guess." He answered, and he cursed inwardly, suddenly regretting his suggestion for taking the Veritaserum. She smiled and continued to write on her clipboard.

"Wait 'till Damien hears about this." She grinned, and he felt the stab of anger, or frustration, or jealousy, or whatever it was, pop that warm bubble, "Last question: what do you fear most?"

He gulped; he felt uncomfortable answering this question, but he felt the Veritaserum kicking in…

"Um-"

"Alright, that's all the time we have for today. Pack up your things, I'll see you later!" Slughorn's booming voice bounced off the old stone walls of the dungeon classroom, and Rose sighed. Scorpius sighed too, but he probably meant it differently than she did. He stuffed his things into his bag and proceeded to leave, but he felt something warm on his shoulder. Despite the warmth, he froze stock still.

"Scorpius?" Rose's voice beckoned him to face her and he did so. She was giving him the same wide, authentic smile she gave him earlier, and that pleasing bubble was inflating inside of him again.

"Thanks." And she was gone.

It took him a few seconds to recompose himself. He learned something new today.

He liked making her smile.

--

It was funny how the one thing (or person, she should say) that made her so miserable was the reason why she felt so cheery at the moment.

Rose was beaming at lunch, heartily munching down on her food, animatedly stirring up conversation with her friends and family as she did so. Albus was surprised and elated to see his favourite cousin back to her usual self. He had no idea what caused the dramatic change, but he did not bother to find out. He was just happy he had his Rose back.

"Professor Slughorn said that Scorpius and I got perfect on our Veritaserum." Rose grinned as she and Albus made their way up to the Gryffindor common room; they had spare period now and Albus needed help on his Transfiguration homework.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked lazily.

"Seven shiny sliver….no. Sheven shiny-ugh. Seven shiny shilver shteps-gah! Oh for Merlin's sake, you do it!" Albus cried exasperatingly, and Rose broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Just say it slowly, Al. There's no need to impress anyone. _Seven shiny silver steps." _She said with ease, and the portrait swung open for them to enter. Albus muttered "Show-off," as they strode into the scarlet and gold common room to sit down at one of the wooden tables. He pulled out his Transfiguration essay for her to read.

"So you were saying that Slughorn gave you and Malfoy perfect, eh? Good for you, I knew you had it in you. Perfect's normal for you anyways." He brushed a few stray black bangs out of his eyes and squinted past her towards the window looking over the Quidditch pitch. "Without Mina around I couldn't really do much. Who's that practicing out there?"

Rose swiveled around in her chair to see; she raised a questionable eyebrow. The window was not so far from them, and she swore that a few weeks ago Albus was able to see clearly from where he was sitting. Plus, how could he not recognize the yellow and black of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team?

"It's Hufflepuff, and is your eyesight going? You used to be able to see from there." She said as she turned back around to face him. He stopped squinting and focused his eyes on her, but he still seemed to be straining them.

"Yeah, lately my eyes haven't been what they used to be. I'm getting old." He chuckled. Rose frowned worriedly.

"You should get that sorted out, Al. Glasses, or something." She suggested, and his eyes widened.

"And look more like my old man? No way." He protested, and crossed his arms defiantly. She sighed.

"Then how are you going to avoid those nasty Bludgers on the field?" She asked, and he grew silent. It was her turn to cross her arms; she knew she was victorious.

"Speaking of your dad, isn't he coming today? He's lecturing us this afternoon."

The mention of his father only soured Albus' mood even further; he slumped in his chair and groaned.

"Yeah, ugh. It's so weird having him teach me in class, but I reckon it won't be so bad, since he told me this morning that today's lesson is going to be pretty cool. And you know my dad; when he says that something's _cool_, he really means it."

Rose felt excitement exploding at the pit of her stomach; she loved her Uncle Harry's abilities with magic, and she was anticipating his lesson today. She wondered if he was going to teach them any advanced magic, the kind of magic she was actually willing to try hard for. The things they taught at Hogwarts seemed alright, but it also seemed like she was not pushing herself to the very limit for it. She needed a _real _challenge.

"I'm pretty sure that whatever your dad has for us today, it will be worth it. I can't wait, to be honest with you. He always has something interesting to show us."

Albus smiled halfheartedly.

"Try living with him. Try calling him _interesting_ then."

--

It was time for the last class of the day, Defence Against the Dark Arts. Scorpius hoped it would be an interesting class today, since the famous Harry Potter was coming in to teach them once again. He came at least once a month to teach them, and whenever he came it always proved to be a class worth coming to.

"D'you think he'll teach us something cool?" Porter asked eagerly as they hurried down the hall.

"I dunno, I hope it's something useful." Princeton sneered. Holden pushed the door open to the class, and Scorpius noticed that Rose was already there, standing with Albus Potter, who seemed to be squinting towards the blackboard. The desks were all pushed to the far side of the classroom; so they _were _going to learn a spell today. Up at the front, a man who greatly resembled Albus was standing beside the blackboard with his wand held in his hands. He had untidy black hair that stuck up at the back, and behind his round glasses were a pair of startlingly bright green eyes. His bangs were covering most of it, but Scorpius managed to catch a glimpse of the infamous lightning bolt-shaped scar on the man's forehead.

Harry Potter grinned and the whole class became quiet. Scorpius rolled his eyes. He was like the messiah or something. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Albus shrinking into the shadows.

"Hey everyone! Glad to see you all again." Harry raised his arms, and everyone greeted him with just as much enthusiasm. Albus groaned.

"Do we have to go through with this every time, son? C'mon, Albus, embrace the fact that your father occasionally teaches at your school!" The entire class broke out in laughter, and Scorpius could not help but join in. In an odd way he kind of understood the embarrassment Albus must have been feeling at the moment.

"Anyways, I've moved the desks aside for a reason today. We're going to learn a spell, and an advanced one at that. You usually don't learn this in school, but don't worry, it isn't illegal (a few Slytherins moaned in disappointment). Have any of you heard of the Patronus Charm?"

A few gasps erupted throughout the classroom; Rose's hand shot straight up into the air. Scorpius, of course, also knew the answer, but he did not bother to compete with her. He concluded that she was too fast for him.

"Why am I not surprised-Rose, tell us what it is, won't you?" Harry pointed to her, and she was only too happy to comply.

"A Patronus Charm is used as a shield to defend oneself from Dementors. It's conjured from the caster's innermost positive feelings, such as joy or hope, and it is unable to feel any despair. Because of this, the Dementors feed off of the Patronus instead of the caster. The Patronus also takes form of an animal, unique to the caster." Rose explained happily, and Harry smiled back.

"Exactly. I'd award points if I had the authority to. The Patronus Charm keeps Dementors away, but only for as long as you can keep that feeling of happiness inside of you. As most of you probably learned from previous lessons, Dementors take away all of those positive feelings, and as Rose explained, the Patronus Charm gives it something to feed _on_ rather than feeding on _you_." He took his wand into one hand, pointed it towards the air above him and shouted clearly:

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

A silvery, almost liquid-like substance began to stream out from Harry's wand; the class watched in awe as the silvery aura began to expand and take form of a large, proud-looking stag, its antlers sprouting quickly from the top of its head. In seconds it was fully formed; he stood on his hind legs and forced himself forward to prance gracefully around the room. The class "Oohed" and "Aahed" in astonishment.

"Now," Harry resumed as the stag continuously galloped around them, "I want all of you to try it. You have to pick the happiest memory you possibly have. Once you found it, you have to let it sort of take over you, fill you up. When you feel you're ready, point your wand to a safe, clear area, and shout in a clear voice, _Expecto Patronum._"

In an instant the class spread out, and pretty soon there were mutters of _Expecto Patronum_ everywhere. Harry did not expect anyone to get it right the first time; he was a patient teacher. Ten minutes into the class some people managed to produce a few wisps of silver from the tips of their wands; Scorpius swore he saw some sort of a shape from his silvery blob, but Porter said he saw nothing.

_Think about something happier._

He knew that the memory of him riding his broom for the first time was not enough; he had spent the last ten minutes trying to get that bloody memory to fill him up, or whatever that Potter idiot was trying to say, and it still did not work. He spun around the room, trying to find anything that would jump-start his memory.

Suddenly, a loud, eardrum-ripping roar tore through the room, startling everyone.

"Look, Uncle Harry!"

_"Wow! _Well done, Rosie!" Harry had rushed over to Rose's side and they were both looking upwards; the rest of the class followed suit. Scorpius looked upwards as well, only to see the same silvery stag trotting around casually like he was ten minutes earlier, but then something else loped into view; something bigger, something more graceful.

An elegant silver and white tiger pounced in front of the class, pausing momentarily to look at everyone. It noticed the stag and it began to prance with it by its side. Everyone applauded and hoarded around Harry and Rose to congratulate her on her progress. The animal was like her in so many ways: graceful, calculating, but ferocious when necessary. Scorpius, grumbling and seemingly insanely jealous, pointed his wand towards the empty space in front of him and focused with all of his might.

_"Expecto Patronum." _He muttered. He imagined himself up in the air on his broom, the cool wind swishing against his face…

A silvery burst of air popped into existence, and then faded into nothing.

He cursed and resisted the urge to throw his wand across the room. His eyes shot over to Rose, who was alone now, admiring the silvery tiger that danced around her, purring affectionately. The other students were spread out again. Though he did not want to, he found himself staring at her a little longer than he wanted.

She was smiling that wide, _real _smile she was smiling earlier that morning in Potions. The smile _he_ caused that morning.

He felt that warm bubble swelling up inside of him again, and this time he knew he was ready.

Her smile ever so clear in his mind, he pointed his wand and shouted in a clear voice:

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

The bright silvery light shot straight out from the tip of his wand and in an instant it began to form a shape; everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded behind him to see what it was going to form into. He heard Rose gasp and she strode to stand behind him; he could almost hear her breathing. Harry stood by the blackboard, his arms crossed and an odd smile on his face. Was he impressed with the son of his old school enemy?

The silvery wisps came together to form a four legged, pointy eared creature; it ran soundlessly around the room for a few laps before stopping in the centre. The majestic, transparent wolf threw its head back to let out a spine-tingling howl. The tiger purred in response.

"Well done, Scorpius, well done." Harry was clapping his hands, and the rest of the class followed as well, though a little more hesitantly so. Rose smiled and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"A wolf, eh? My tiger can take him down any day." She said with a wink before running off to Albus. Scorpius stood still, his chest heaving and his wand trembling in his hand. Harry approached him slowly.

"Yeah, it takes a lot out of you, but it's worth it, as you now know." He said cheerfully as he watched the stag, the tiger, and the wolf circling around their heads, "Your wolf materialized quickly though; much quicker than Rose's tiger...and maybe even my stag. The memory you were using must've been pretty strong. Don't ever forget it, Scorpius." The Boy Who Lived gave him a reassuring pat on the back before turning back to help students who were having difficulty (which was basically everyone except the conjurors of the wolf and the tiger). Scorpius shook his head and ran a hand through his wayward blond hair, making the back stick up almost exactly like Harry and Albus'.

How could he _ever_ forget that smile?


	12. Big Mistake

_A/N: It's Rosie's turn.  
_

**Big Mistake  
**

The week was going by at a torturously slow pace, much to the students' chagrin. The days were stretched for no apparent reason; classes seemed more pointless and tedious than they usually did, and even the food served during mealtimes tasted a little bland. It seemed like the colour was drained out of everything-or maybe everybody was just anticipating the Christmas holidays, which was still a little over a month and a half away.

Rose Weasley, however, seemed to be the only one immune to the plague that swept throughout the school. She was bouncing, almost literally on her heels whenever she was standing still, and there was a little skip to her step as she walked to each class. She was hardly seen without a smile since Tuesday; even when she was studying on her spare period there was the wide, goofy grin plastered on her pretty features, quite reminiscent of her father's. People figured she was ecstatic because of the fact that she could produce a full fledged Patronus, or because she scored perfect on that dreaded Veritaserum assignment. Tuesday must have been the best day of Rose Weasley's life.

It seemed like decades had gone by before Friday rolled along; the whole school had woken up from its colourless trance and began to look a little more lively, probably because there was the much anticipated Quidditch game between Slytherin and Ravenclaw after classes today. Everyone had been talking about it even before the Halloween Ball. Who was going to win: calm, cool, collected Damien Byrne of Ravenclaw, or aggressive, bold, daring Scorpius Malfoy of Slytherin? The boys had already placed their bets on who they thought was going to emerge victorious; the girls, however, frankly did not care. Most of the female population of Hogwarts were attending the game simply because the two Seekers were something worth looking at for an hour or two, even if they were sweaty or muddy or up in the air, too far away to be examined properly.

"Open your books to page 216 and answer the questions, please." Professor Longbottom instructed distractedly during Herbology that Friday afternoon. It was the last class of the day and they were not going to do anything, except read from their textbooks and answer questions. Albus was excited for the game even though he was not playing; he nearly dashed over to his seat as if getting his work done faster will bring the game any closer. Rose shook her head with a smile, amused, and headed over to sit beside her cousin.

"You still have an forty-five minutes left 'till your game, Al. Stop jostling all over your seat." Rose whispered, barely unable to contain her grin. Albus' writing was even more illegible than it usually was.

"It's not _my_ game, Rosie, it's Byrne's today. He's the year's best Seeker, I know he is, and he's going to kick Malfoy's sore loser arse today." He uttered with a determined smirk on his face; he nearly toppled over his ink bottle from his excitement. Rose shook her head again and flipped the pages of her textbook.

"He can't possibly be better than you, Al. Everyone keeps saying you're the best around." She said as she trailed the text with her index finger, trying to find the answer to the first question. Albus scoffed and stabbed the parchment, dotting an 'i' by puncturing a hole.

"Nah, everyone's actually talking about how Malfoy's basically my double when it comes to Quidditch. People say we're almost exactly the same, except for the fact that he's a little bit of a pusher. Bloody irritating to have him match up with me." He spat, dropping his quill and glaring down the table. Rose followed his stare, and suddenly her heart jumped up to her throat. Scorpius was bent over his parchment, furiously scribbling down his answers, his eyebrows knit and his tongue slightly protruding from the corner of his mouth. Ever since Tuesday, she had been 'seeing' Scorpius in a different way. His voice did not sound as drawling and bored as it usually did, and his eyes, while they still retained that piercing feeling whenever she stared into them, seemed to have a softer edge now. His looks also looked sharper to her, more attractive, which was probably the reason why she currently had difficulty breathing.

He paused writing for a split second to look up, and at an instant his eyes found hers. Her heart dropped all the way to her stomach and she quickly looked down at her own parchment, her eyes and cheeks burning. She was sure he could see, even from so far away.

"All right there, Rosie?" She could hear Albus' concerned voice through the pulsing in her ears. She slowly turned towards him and nodded, wondering if she was capable of speaking. She did not dare to try it out. Instead, she picked up her quill and resumed her writing. Albus stared back questionably, but shrugged it off and continued writing.

Herbology eventually came to an end, and Rose was eager to run out of the greenhouse so neither Scorpius or Albus could confront her about what happened earlier. Knowing Scorpius he was probably going to tease her about it later during Head Duty or something, so she did not want to double the torturing session, and Albus was probably going to hammer her with suspicious questions. The moment she felt the cool autumn wind on her face she thought she was home free, but she felt a hand on her shoulder and her elation was whisked away with the breeze. At first she thought it was Albus, but then she remembered him telling her he had to see Lisa after class.

"Weasley." Was all that Scorpius had to say to get her heart racing. She whirled around, trying her best to look irritated, but she probably looked nervous instead.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked. She noticed that her voice was quivering. Scorpius was standing at least an arms' length away from her. His ruffled hair was moving with the wind and his mercury grey eyes were staring straight into her own blue ones, ripping them apart.

"Nothing. Just wanted to say hello, that's all." His voice seemed so smooth now that she had put most of the nearly seven year long resentment she had for him behind her. She raised en eyebrow at his reply.

"Are you sure about that, or are you just looking for some kind of excuse to bother me?" She smirked, though it was nothing compared to his, and shifted her weight on one leg so that one hip swung out. His eyes darted downwards for a short second (she noticed and she could not help but smirk again) before opening his mouth to reply.

"Going to the game tonight, then? Your date's gonna be there." He said half-jokingly; his usual smug expression changed to a sort of grim one. She laughed a little quietly; she realized that there were people staring at them as they passed them by.

"Of course I am. My whole family's dragging me along for the ride, plus, as you've just mentioned, Damien's going to be playing." She held her books close to her chest and spoke in an unusually bubbly voice, testing it out to see his reaction, "He's such a good Seeker, he's going to beat Slytherin tonight for sure. He promised me he would." She topped it off with a quiet giggle. That should have done it.

Just as she expected, Scorpius' eyes narrowed at the mention of the Ravenclaw Seeker's name, but his smirk was still visible. He took a dangerous step forward, and suddenly they were so close his eyes became too intense for her to stare at; she felt her knees buckling.

"Byrne's got nothing on me tonight." He leaned in so that his lips brushed against her ear; chills ran up and down her spine as his sultry voice whispered, "Make one promise for me, then: at the game, shout my name as loud as you can so he can hear you. Drown _everyone_ out."

He stepped back to where he was originally. She stared back at him, dumbstruck. He was being oddly charming today, but his charm was not enough to sway her into agreeing. She originally came to cheer on Ravenclaw, and though he was being _nice_ (she cringed at using the word 'nice' in the same sentence with him) she kept in mind that he was also the one who was responsible for breaking Albus' leg and fracturing Randy's wrist.

"Sorry, Scorpius, but I'm still siding with Ravenclaw. I'm not cheering for the person who seriously hurt two of my family members." She replied nonchalantly. She noticed the slight hurt in his eyes and she bit her tongue to prevent herself from verbally changing her decision. The pain he was expressing quickly dissolved into his usual haughty expression anyway, and he even chuckled a little.

"Suit yourself, Weasley." He shouldered his bag and prepared to walk past her. When he was close enough, he leaned in towards her ear once again.

"But I'll still be looking for you in the crowd, regardless if I can hear you or not."

She felt her ears growing warm, and she mentally cursed herself for being a Weasley. She watched him wordlessly as he walked casually back towards the castle with his bag hanging off one shoulder and his hands in his pockets. He seemed so different, yet at the same time he was exactly the same. It did not make the slightest sense to her.

She shrugged it off and began her own journey back to the castle. Her stomach was rumbling and she needed all the energy she could muster to cheer on Damien at the game later tonight.

--

Classes whizzed by and the anticipation for the game intensified. It was starting after dinner, which was odd because Quidditch games were usually held during the day when it was brighter out. Evening games were more interesting to watch anyway, especially for the girls; the lights on the field were brighter and more focused than the sun was, so people got a better look at the players.

The Great Hall was flooded with Quidditch conversation. At the Gryffindor table, Albus and Hugo were having a heated discussion about who was going to win. Oddly enough, Hugo thought that Slytherin was going to take the competition. Rose raised an eyebrow at her brother, whom she thought hated anything that had to do with Slytherin, but evidently she was just proved wrong.

"I dunno Al, I mean the Goyle brothers have that raw power that not even our team can stand against. You've seen those tree trunks they have for arms, they can beat anything down to the other side of the field." Hugo argued before taking a bite of his steak. Albus rolled his eyes and stabbed at his potatoes with his fork.

"But those brothers are probably as dim as a wet match in a dark cave. They're probably going to have labels on the balls-y'know, something that says BLUDGER on a Bludger or something-so they won't get them mixed up with people's heads." He shot back, and Hugo could not help but laugh. Rose giggled into her pumpkin juice.

"Scorpius is a sharp Seeker though; he's quick on that broom of his, and his reflexes seem to be on par. Damien's speedy too, but I don't think his reaction time is as good." Hugo stated in an almost business-like tone, reminiscent of his mother. Albus stared at his younger cousin with wide green eyes.

"Are you kidding? Remember the last game we had against Ravenclaw? Damien snatched that bloody Snitch right under my nose, _literally!"_

The argument darted back and forth like a serious tennis match, right up until supper was finished. This time the school was really riled up; everyone leaped out of their seats, eager to get good ones down at the Quidditch field. Mandy pulled on Rose's wrist as they followed their brothers and cousins out of the castle and into the cold air; they had brought their coats, hats, gloves and scarves down before supper so they did not have to waste time running up to their common rooms to retrieve them.

"See, this saves us at least five minutes, so now we have a good chance at getting some good seats for the game…" Randy exclaimed in the midst of the crowd; they had managed to get a bench on the first level of one of the stands. Rose pulled her gold and scarlet scarf up so that it covered her mouth. She wrung her gloved hands; despite the fact that she had little interest in Quidditch, she was quite excited to see Damien play. She had never seen him play before and according to what her friends and family were telling her he was one of the best around.

"Can't wait for Damien to come out, eh Rose?" Lisa was sitting beside her and she looked just as cold as she did; her voice was muffled behind her scarf and she had one arm looped around Albus'. Rose smiled for the both of them; they had been 'sort of' ("I wouldn't say it's _actually_ a thing," Albus replied when she asked about them, "we're kind of just y'know, trying it out for now.") dating since the Halloween Ball.

"Of course I am, Lisa. With the lot of you constantly talking about him as if he's a god or something, why wouldn't I want to see him play?" She paused for a moment, and then hesitantly added, "Plus, I can't miss him beating Scorpius Malfoy."

Lisa grinned and Albus, who kind of overheard their conversation, leaned forwards so Rose could see his face, and gave them both the thumbs up.

"Byrne's got this for sure. Malfoy's a-"

Rose never got to hear the end of Albus' sentence because a high-pitched scream drowned him out. Though Jane was wearing earmuffs, she had her hands placed over them, her eyes clamped shut in agony. Hugo, Lily, Mandy, and Randy turned towards the noise, annoyed expressions on their faces.

"Oh, these are wonderful seats, Patricia! Thank you for saving them for my friends and I!"

Rose did not need to turn around to see where that voice came from, but she did so anyway. Tatia Schultz was the one who screamed in delight, and to Rose's dismay the prissy half-Veela and her three friends (who were not as attractive as her but they were still good looking; that was probably why Hugo and Randy's facial expressions changed when the turned around) were going to sit on the bench behind her. She groaned and slapped her forehead. Lisa laughed and patted her friend's shoulder in sympathy.

"Don't worry, Rose, they won't bother us. We'll cheer so loud our voices will drown them out."

"I'll try, Lisa, but I can only scream so many times. My vocal chords probably aren't as strong as hers." Rose muttered, vaguely remembering the time she heard Tatia's voice from the opposite side of the field. She turned back to the field, waiting for the game to start.

She really hoped she would not lose her hearing tonight.

--

"Damien Byrne is nothing. Ravenclaws are _nothing._ They won't have anything on us tonight." Scorpius said, his voice cutting cleanly through the icy air. The Slytherin Quidditch Team was huddled in a small circle just before the entrance to the vast field; it was tradition to have the captain give a small pep talk before they were introduced.

"Remember, the only Chaser you have to worry about is that Scamander fellow; make sure you knock him out as quickly as possible." Scorpius nodded towards the Goyle brothers, the sole Beaters of the Slytherin team, and nodded in reply. "Their Beaters are pansies, they can't beat a bloody Quaffle a mile down if that was even allowed." Several players snickered. "Just remember to stay on your toes. Use all of your strength. Don't hesitate to be aggressive; that's what we're all about."

Music began to play from outside, and Scorpius knew that it was time to start. He stepped backwards and motioned for everyone to mount their brooms.

"And now let's hear it for the currently undefeated Ravenclaw Quidditch Team!"

From the far end of the field Scorpius could see beams of blue and bronze shooting out and up into the sky; he knew the one leading the group was none other than the supposed Cedric Diggory of their time, Damien Byrne. He smirked as he watched Damien wave towards the crowd; that git was going to be the first one knocked down tonight.

"Now for tonight's second team, the also currently undefeated Slytherin Quidditch Team!" Ryan Jordan's voice echoed throughout the field; Scorpius immediately kicked off the floor and zoomed straight out into the field. He could hear jeering and cheering from all sides.

"SCORPIUS! SCORPIUS!"

Though she was screaming, Tatia Schultz's voice still sounded melodious, and he cringed as he stopped in the centre of the field. He did not even bother to wave at her.

"So here we are." Damien Byrne called out to him; he was a few metres away on his half of the field, his arms crossed and his legs dangling over his broom. Scorpius smirked and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll try not to tackle you too hard, Byrne. Don't want you breaking a leg now." He sneered, and Byrne rolled his eyes. Madame Hooch was far beneath them, screaming out rules and regulations.

"I don't think I'll be the one getting hurt tonight, Malfoy." Damien said just before the Quaffle was thrown up into the air; Theodore Flint raced towards it, but he was beaten by Lysander Scamander, who grabbed it seconds before Theodore and zoomed down the field. Scorpius grabbed the end of his broomstick and began to circle the field, his eyes searching for the Snitch. He caught Damien on the opposite side of the field, doing the same thing.

Ten minutes had gone into the game and Ravenclaw had proved themselves to be a worthy opponent. The Quaffle was being tossed back and forth between the two teams and nobody has scored a point just yet, though there were many close calls. This pleased the crowd; Scorpius had never heard them so excited before.

Suddenly his ears picked up a faint buzzing noise, and he swerved around to his left; the Snitch was hovering a few metres away, twitching in all different sorts of directions. Smirking, he leaned forward and advanced towards it. When he was just about an arms' length away from snatching the Snitch and the game altogether, he felt a hard shove and was pushed off course; Damien had just shouldered him and was now heading for the Snitch.

"Oh, it looks like the two Seekers have finally located the Snitch! This is it, folks: will Damien Byrne take the win, or will Scorpius Malfoy grab it at the last second?"

_This is it. _Ryan Lee's voice echoed in Scorpius' head as he regained his composure and sped off to elbow Damien in the ribs. Damien cried out in pain but did not falter; instead he gave Scorpius a glare and dove straight down towards the ground. Scorpius followed suit and picked up speed; soon he was ahead of Damien. He could see the Snitch flitting away, just a few inches too far to reach out and grab.

"The two are really going at it for the Snitch!"

Scorpius twisted left and right in a sort of zigzag motion so Damien could not speed in front of him. He was closer to the Snitch now; he tried drowning out Tatia's overexcited screams so he could concentrate…

"SCORPIUS!"

_That doesn't sound like Tatia…_

He turned his head towards the crowd to confirm his suspicions.

The last thing he saw was a deep, rich bronze flash.

Then he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, and everything went black.

--

Rose had to admit that the game was pretty intense; there had been no score on any of the teams since the game started because the defense was so tight, and the players had literally been duking it out. There was a lot of shoving, pushing, name calling-Madame Hooch was forced to foul a few players for their rotten sportsmanship. Damien was doing well so far; he and Scorpius were the only ones untouched. Their robes were still clean and their faces were not smudged with dirt or blood.

"Oh, look! I think Damien's found the Snitch." Thomas shouted animatedly, pointing towards a blurry blue and bronze shape on the field. Damien only looked blurry because he was flying so quickly; he collided straight into a blond boy clad in green and silver.

"DON'T LET HIM OVERTAKE YOU, SCORPIUS! GO, GO, GO! GET THE SNITCH!" Tatia was practically screeching over Rose's head; her poor eardrums were ringing.

Scorpius and Damien were neck to neck in the race for the Snitch; they gave it all they had to get at least within a metre of the Snitch's range.

"C'MON SCORPIUS! NO-NO, DON'T LET HIM SHOVE YOU LIKE THAT! YES, THAT'S IT! PUSH HIM OUT OF THE WAY!"

"ALRIGHT, NOW YOU'RE CLOSE! GO GET IT, SCORPIUS!"

"KICK THAT RAVENCLAW'S ARSE!"

"DON'T LET HIM GET TO YOU, SCORPIUS!"

Rose could feel a vein pulsing in her forehead; she was going to explode if she heard Tatia's voice one more time. Lorcan and Lisa eyed her worriedly.

_Shout my name as loud as you can. Drown _everyone _out._

His velvety smooth voice echoed in her mind, and she smirked to herself. So she would be keeping her promise after all…

Rose turned around quickly to give Tatia a pointed stare. She then turned back towards the field and cupped her hands around her mouth. She drew back, taking in a large breath of air, and shouted the loudest she had ever shouted in her life:

"SCORPIUS!"

She definitely kept her promise; her voice rang through the air as clear and loud as a gunshot; everyone turned to look at her, even the people that were sitting in the stands from across the field. Her voice overpowered everybody's; Tatia's voice was a whisper compared to hers.

Scorpius even stopped for a bit to find the source of the scream; his glorious white blond head had turned towards her, and she swore she saw his eyes darting over to her. Her heart accelerated, her veins pulsing wildly...

He was too distracted by her scream to notice the small black ball zooming in his direction.

She gasped and opened her mouth to shout a warning, but it was too late. The Bludger hit Scorpius square at the back of his head and he crumpled, tumbling off of his broom and spiraling towards the ground.


	13. Hospital Wing Musings

_A/N: I probably won't update this again until next week or a little afterward, for I am leaving on another trip._

_Thanks again for your ongoing support, it's really great of you guys to take time out of your eventful lives to read my stuff._

**Hospital Wing Musings**

_"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED SCORPIUS MALFOY!"_

Tatia's screeching did not even reach Rose; she was transfixed on the still, seemingly lifeless body lying on the soft grass so far away from her. She ignored the gasps, the protests and of course the screeching from behind that threatened to tear her eardrums apart. Everything seemed to happen in a blur: first she was ecstatic at the fact that he somehow _knew_ it was her who screamed out his name, and then a second later a bloody Bludger just had to come out of nowhere and knock him out cold. She knew it was her fault for distracting him, though she did not want to admit to the fact that she _killed_ him. That would be just too much for her to bear. Hurting Scorpius Malfoy took a heavy toll on Rose; she felt her knees weaken and her heart accelerate but for all the wrong reasons.

"Rose, where're you going?" Jane's voice seemed distant as she whirled around to make her way down the staircase to the playing field. She felt tears stinging her eyes as she reached the bright green grass, plush under her shoes. It was much more terrifying to see him up close; the grass surrounding his head was stained with what looked horribly like blood. She felt her knees buckle again; not only did she hate blood but to see him so, so-

"He's losing blood fast, we have to take him to the hospital wing!" Theodore Flint's rumbling voice prevented her thoughts from moving forward, and she forced her legs to bring her over to the small group of Slytherins and Ravenclaws. They were huddled over the unconscious Scorpius like vultures; Theodore and Madame Hooch were kneeling by his side, examining him. Lysander and Damien were the only ones who noticed Rose stumbling towards them and they caught her when it looked like she was going to trip over her own feet.

"I-I was the one," She stuttered, her eyes burning with unshed tears, "I was the one who sh-shouted his name so loud, I'm responsible for a-all of t-this!" She let herself fall into Damien's arms.

"Don't blame yourself, Rose." Lysander soothed, rubbing her shoulder. "It was just an accident."

"Lysander's right." Damien held Rose out at arms' length and stared into her dark blue eyes, which were glazed over with tears. He smiled his best smile for her, but for some reason it did not seem as dazzling as before. She did not feel the usual warmth rushing to her cheeks and ears, and she definitely was not smiling back. She managed to convince herself that the only reason why his charm was not working this time was because she was just preoccupied with worrying over Scorpius, who was now being carried on a stretcher to the hospital wing. She felt her heartbeat raging inside of her ribcage, but she knew it was not for Damien. Despite all of this, she forced on a small smile and sniffled.

"Still, I c-can't help-" She turned her head towards the stretcher; though his hair was stained with fresh blood and there was a bit of dirt smudged on his cheek from the fall, Scorpius looked quite peaceful lying there. He could have been sleeping if not for his very obvious injury.

"He'll be fine. It'll take at least a week or so for him to go back to his usual snobby, egotistical, selfish, foul-mouthed, toeragged self, but he'll be fine." Damien said with another smile; Rose still did not feel anything.

She wondered if this was going to be some sort of a problem in the near future.

--

_Am I dead?_

_Far from it._

Everything was black, pitch black. It was impossible to see anything through the darkness. To add onto the nightmare, his limbs felt non-existent; he was completely immobile and there was nothing he could do to fix it. He could not move his arms, if he had any, or his legs. He tried speaking, whispering, screaming, pleading, but his tongue seemed to have disappeared with the rest of his body. It was horrible, worse than any nightmare he had ever had in his life. It was worse than that dream that kept coming back to him nearly every night, with the mirror and the reflection of his father mimicking every move of his…

_"Stay with me, Scorpius."_

_"Can you hear me, Scorpius?"_

_"I'm so sorry…"_

That voice, it sounded so familiar…

_"It's my fault, all my fault. If I didn't shout your name…"_

_"You're never going to forgive me for this, I know you won't."_

_"I was so stupid…"_

He felt an unexpected jolt of excitement when he realized that the voice belonged to none other than Rose Weasley. She was the one who shouted his name, she was the one who distracted him from that incoming Bludger. She sounded sad, and he hated being around sad people, especially when they were crying. It bothered him a lot. He wanted to make her feel better for whatever she was apologizing to him for (he did not think it was her fault for the Bludger incident; it was not like she was the one who beat the Bludger in his direction, though for some reason he could not bring himself to admit that if she did not shout his name he could have had enough time to react), but he could not do anything. He was paralyzed and mute, completely vulnerable, utterly useless. He was frustrated and despaired at the fact that he was unable to help her. He wished he could give her some sort of sign, anything that would let her know that he was okay, despite the fact that he physically could not do anything.

_"We never really were the greatest of friends-actually we were never friends in the first place, but that row we had during the Ball changed everything…"_

Her voice was breaking; at first he was afraid he was losing touch with her, but then he heard faint sniffling noises and realized that she was crying.

_"I'll be honest with you, Scorpius. My parents-well actually usually it was just my dad-never spoke highly of your family. Whenever they mentioned your father or your grandfather something bad always followed afterwards. It sort of influenced me into thinking that you were going to be just like them."_

If he could, Scorpius would have snorted. He was not surprised that she was brought up like this; most of the wizarding world probably thought just like her family.

_"And I was right in our first years of Hogwarts-" _Again Scorpius pretend-snorted, _"-you were stingy towards everyone, specifically to those without pure blood, and even more specifically, my family. It hurt a whole lot to hear you say all of those things, especially when it was directed towards me."_

Great, now she was putting him through a guilt trip. Even when he was supposedly unconscious he could feel the horrid feeling washing over him. How he wished he could just wake up right now…

_"You poked in all of the worst places, ridiculing my sidekick father and my Muggle-born mother, my reputation as a know-it-all…it was a horrible childhood for me. You were worse than the girls in class."_

That last line whacked him hard, maybe even harder than the Bludger that was responsible for his unusual state. It was weird because though he was hit in the head, his head seemed to be the only _fit_ part of his body, since he could still retain his thoughts and he was able to listen to her speak while the rest of his body rendered useless.

He faintly remembered the other girls in their year relentlessly teasing her not really for her know-it-all demeanor but for her looks. They teased her for her bushy, unusually coloured hair. Some even made up stupid rumours in fourth year about how she magically dyed it so that she could be _different_ from the rest of the Weasley clan; he immediately found that rumour to be faulty since her brothers and sisters shared the same unique hair colour as her. The girls also ridiculed her for her rather large front teeth, which she would later grow into as they grew older.

He wondered how those stupid girls felt now, many years later. That bushy hair they continuously teased her for eventually smoothed and rippled out into a series of soft, rich russet waves, and her teeth became perfectly straight, pearly white, and just the right size. Her childish, baby blue eyes darkened into that dark, alluring, oceanic blue he loved so much, his _real_ favourite colour, according to the Veritaserum. He knew that those girls that teased her so long ago were jealous of her now; they had nothing compared to her, and they knew it. If he knew it, then they certainly had to.

_"It wasn't until last year when I noticed you change. You became...different. It surprised not only me but the rest of the school. You didn't like being compared to your family. You didn't bother me as much as you did before, and don't think I haven't noticed it-you got annoyed whenever somebody mentioned the word _Mudblood!" Her voice seemed less fragile now and she sounded happier, much to his relief.

_"I was still thinking quite shallowly of you though, to be honest. Somehow I still thought of you as an arrogant, fatheaded prat whose father paved the way for him. That night, Halloween night, the Ball-your birthday-you proved me wrong, however, and I had never felt so miserable in my entire life-well, up until now."_

Her voice faltered at the slightest towards the end, and he thought she was going to break down into tears again. Him getting hurt invoked her feeling miserable? In their earlier years she probably would have gotten a kick out of this; he imagined her laughing hysterically with that gigantic family of hers.

_"You told me that night that your father had nothing to do with what you have achieved up until now, and I felt so stupid for not realizing that earlier. It was not until Zabini told me that your birthday was on Halloween that everything clicked together. I know that having the son of a former Death Eater born on the day of James and Lily Potter's murder would be controversial. I was too thick to acknowledge the fact that you had a lot to live up to, and also a lot going against you."_

He felt elated at her spilling everything out to him like this; he ached to show his appreciation somehow, and his physical limits aggravated him greatly. He finally had somebody who understood him, who knew exactly what he had to put up with. Merlin, if he could he would have leapt up from whatever he was lying on and given her a hug.

_"It's so unfair for people to be treating you like this, especially when you haven't done anything to deserve it. It's ridiculous, how prejudice works." _She paused to sniff loudly. _"I know how that feels. You really can't escape your name."_

Of course. Rose Weasley was the daughter of Hermione Granger-Weasley, the cleverest witch...well, _ever. _He knew Rose idolized her mother, but she also understood that she had big shoes to fill. In his opinion, he thought she fitted those shoes quite well. She aced every class and gave her best at everything, but she could not escape the constant comparison people gave between her and her mother: did Hermione get the same mark as Rose did back in her day? Oh, Rose slipped up on that one; Hermione would not have done so back then. Scorpius had heard all of the adults talk about her, and he could not help but sympathize with her.

_"That's basically why I stopped calling you by your last name-simply because I know how annoying it gets when people constantly compare you to your family. I love my mother, and she's my hero. There's nothing I can do in this world without her by my side, and I'm so proud to be able to call myself her daughter, but I cannot help but bristle when others compare me to her. Yes, I am smart and a bit of a know-it-all, just like her, but why can't people see that our differences are just as obvious as our similarities?"_

He made a mental note to remember to call her 'Rose' from now on. It was going to sound awkward on his tongue, he knew that for sure, but he was going to have to deal with it. She had a point there.

If he only had enough strength to squeeze her hand, or at least open his eyes or something…

_"I'm so sorry Scorpius, this is all my fault. You're all mussed up because of me."_

He looked that bad, huh?

A sharp pain enveloped him, much like the one he experienced before he was knocked out. It pounded at the back of his brain, spreading to the back of his neck and even behind his eyes. He grimaced and squeezed his eyes against the pain, then slowly began to open them…

The light that re-introduced Scorpius to the world only added to his excruciating pain. He groaned; everything looked over-exposed and way too bright. He raised the back of his hand to shield his eyes from the worst of the light-he groaned again in pain when he realized that his shoulder was hurting him-and turned his sore neck to give Rose a small smile.

His eyebrows raised in surprise-she was not by his side like he thought she was.

It took awhile, but Scorpius managed to sit up (he came to the sad realization that nearly every limb in his body was quivering with numbing pain). He wondered if that 'conversation' he just overheard actually happened, or if that Bludger really did give him some serious brain damage.

--

It was well past midnight, and Albus could not sleep. The horrible Quidditch accident that happened nearly a week and a half ago was enough to scare anybody, even if Scorpius Malfoy was the victim. Rose was devastated; she took the blame on herself again and spent nearly every second of her spare time in the hospital wing, poring over the unconscious Slytherin Seeker. He could hear his favourite cousin sniffling in the lounge below his dormitory; he debated whether he should go down and talk to her.

"She's been miserable for days, mate." Thomas Finnigan whispered in the dark. Albus could not see him but he recognized the young man's voice, "You're the only one she'll listen to at this point. Go down there and talk to her."

Albus kicked his covers away and hopped out of bed; he wriggled into a grey t-shirt and made his way out of the dormitory, barefoot and his lower body clad in a pair of black sweatpants. The fire was still roaring, making the Gryffindor common room seem redder than it usually was, and occupying the squashy armchair closest to the lively fireplace was none other than a crying Rose Weasley, still dressed in her school uniform. She was leaning forward in her seat, her elbows on her thighs and her hands pressed against her face. Her small shoulders were having up and down with violent sobs. Albus felt his heart sink; this was worse than the Halloween Ball incident. He slowly made his way down the staircase, carefully shifting his weight with every step so that he made as little noise as possible. He knew he was close enough when he felt the heat radiating from the fire.

"Rosie?" He squeaked nervously; he was afraid of her shooing him off or something, like what she did the days after the Halloween Ball. She did not say anything for the first few seconds, which he took as a good sign. He took a few steps closer.

"Albus." She croaked through her tears; her voice was muffled behind her hands, and she did not look up at him, but she spoke without anger, at least. Albus sighed in relief, realizing that he was on her good side, and took the seat across from her.

"Everything's my-"

"Let's not start this again." Albus interjected, already knowing what Rose was going to say, "It's not your fault. It never was your fault. Did _you_ beat that Bludger? No, you didn't!"

Rose separated her hands to look at him; she was paler than usual and her eyes were red and puffy.

"You know very well that it was my fault, Albus. I was the one who shouted his _name-"_

"He would've gotten hit regardless. That Bludger was whizzing by so fast, even if he had time to react he probably would have gotten knocked out anyway. There was no way anyone could have escaped that." Albus cut in again, his voice firmer this time. He leaned forward and mimicked Rose's posture, except that his fingers were linked together in front of him.

"W-who hit that Bludger? Did you see?" Rose asked softly, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. Albus frowned, thinking back to the night of the accident. If it were not for Thomas, who was sitting beside him the entire match, he probably would not have been able to recall everything properly. His eyesight prevented him from seeing the players clearly; he spent most of the time asking Thomas which player was which. Not wanting to admit it to Rose though, and also deciding that this was an inappropriate time to talk about it, he skipped the subject of his poor eyes.

"Um...it was a Ravenclaw, that's for sure, I think it was Monhagen who did it." Albus snorted and stared into the fire. Ever since the accident Paul Monhagen had become some sort of a local hero, known as the one who had the guts to Bludger Scorpius Malfoy. Of course poor Rose would not have known; she was too immersed in her misery to keep up with the school's social gossip.

"Ugh, I just turned more people against him. I'm causing more problems." Rose mumbled in between her fingers. Albus shook his head and moved to kneel in front of Rose. He patted her knee comfortingly.

"When are you going to realize that you can't make everybody happy?" He said softly, and that caused Rose to tear her hands away from her face for a second time. She stared at him, eyes as wide as her slack mouth. Albus stared at her hopefully, putting on a small, crooked smile, waiting for her reply.

"I don't know, Albus," She replied after a long pause, "I don't know."

Albus patted her knee again and moved to sit back in his chair.

"You have to think for yourself for once, you know. I hate seeing you like this, you look like you've just gotten a nine out of ten on every piece of homework you've ever gotten."

Rose giggled and she even cracked a tiny smile; Albus leaned back in his seat, triumphant.

"I don't know how do it, Al. You always have a way of making me feel better. We could be seconds away from the world's end and you'll still be able to make me laugh." Rose grinned and leaned further to grab Albus' hand. "Thank you." She whispered.

Albus smiled back and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

"Ah, it's nothing worth mentioning, really. I just want to make sure that you're happy, that's all. You're my best friend, Rose, that's what I'm supposed to do." He stood up and Rose followed him. "Now it's about time the both of us got some sleep, hm?"

Rose rubbed her eyes with her knuckles again, but this time it was because she was tired, not because she was crying. She yawned and nodded.

"Yes, it's pretty late now." She made her way towards the staircase. "Thanks again, Al. I owe you for this, and for the Halloween Ball."

Albus grinned again.

"I'll make note of that. Don't think I'll forget!"


	14. Promise

_A/N: Back from my second vacation. Sorry if this chapter's a little short-I'll try to make the next one a little longer._

_Thank you to all who are still reading this story!_

**Promise**

It was a rainy afternoon in Hogwarts. Rose always hated the rain, except for at night when she was about to sleep. The rhythmic pitter-patter always lulled her to sleep whenever she had trouble doing so. Other than that, she despised the way it made everything look so dull and depressing, and it made her hair so frizzy she looked like she had gotten electrocuted.

Due to the rain Rose could not spend her spare time under her favourite beech tree, so she decided to do some homework in the library instead. The library was her second choice when she needed a place to stray away from society for a little while. The smell of books and ink always calmed her, and the fact that there were not any annoying screeching half-Veelas to bother her was also another plus.

The rain pounded against the windows as she sat down at her usual table. As she opened her bag to take out her books she noticed that the sky was a very dark grey, despite the fact that it was only noon.

"How depressing." She muttered to herself as she plucked her scarlet plumed quill out of one of the outside pockets of her bag.

"Not one for storms, are you?" A smooth voice said from behind, and Rose jumped a little in her seat. Secretly hoping it was a fully recovered Scorpius Malfoy, she turned around to look, but her heart resumed its regular beat. It was only Damien Byrne.

Only _Damien Byrne? What has gotten into you?_

"Oh...hello Damien." Rose greeted half-heartedly. She did not like how his voice sounded similar to Scorpius'. Damien smiled and moved to sit beside her. Before the accident this movement would have caused her to have a heart attack.

"What's the matter?" Damien craned his neck so that he got a better look at her face, "Is the weather affecting your mood?"

Rose nodded even though this was not entirely true; she was still worrying about Scorpius, but she decided that it was safer not to mention that. She opened a textbook and began to skim through the pages.

"Kind of." She said distractedly as she found what she was looking for in the textbook and scribbled down a few notes, "I never really liked the rain."

Damien chuckled and she wondered why she was still able to breathe. He ran his fingers through his hair and she mentally noted that Scorpius had a habit of doing that too.

"I really don't fancy it much either." He said as he turned his head to look towards the window, "It cancels Quidditch."

Rose forced a laugh and pushed her roll of parchment away. She could not concentrate on her work at the moment, but she knew that Damien was not the reason why. To avoid suspicion she mimicked his pose by looking out the window. An awkward silence elapsed between them for a good few minutes or so, and she felt tension growing. She was sure he felt it too.

"You're still worried over Malfoy, aren't you?" He asked, breaking the silence. Rose quickly turned to face him, and she found him staring straight at her. His dark brown eyes were twinkling under the dim light above their heads. A few strands of his neatly combed hair fell in front of his eyes, making him look restless.

"I…" She started, and relapsed into silence again. She stared at her lap and began playing with her hands. She felt a warm sensation under her chin and realized that Damien was tilting her head up so he could look at her properly.

"He's fine. He's conscious now." He said gently. Rose's pulse sped up instantly and she drew back from his hand, which was still cupped under her chin.

"Wha-? How do you-"

"Word travels fast, Rose." He was smiling as he spoke. She stood up and immediately began gathering her things. She stuffed them into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Damien looked up at her, but he already knew where she was heading.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked calmly, standing up as he did so. Rose contemplated this for a moment; she did not see what harm it would do, plus Scorpius would probably be too sore to throw a good enough insult.

"I don't see a reason why you shouldn't." She replied with a small smile. He nodded and smiled back and offered to carry her bag. She politely declined, feeling horrible enough that his charm did not have a big impact on her like it used to. She did not want to feel like she was using him.

"C'mon then." He said softly, offering his arm. She wordlessly grabbed his elbow and shuffled along his side, lost in her thoughts.

--

"I _thought_ you told his sister that he was conscious!"

"He is, Miss Schultz, but he is still very weak and he needs his rest. You will be able to talk to him once he wakes up."

"Hmph!"

The short argument was followed by a series of impatient footsteps out of the door and a string of incoherent muttering from Madam Pomfrey. Scorpius had been pretending to be asleep for the past few hours in order to avoid interacting with Tatia; she had been visiting at least ten times every fifteen minutes. He had the time to count them all.

"She's gone, Mister Malfoy." That was his cue. Scorpius' eyes fluttered slowly, stinging slightly from the white light above him. He thanked Madam Pomfrey in a weak, strained voice, and she only nodded in reply before shuffling somewhere else to work on another patient.

It took a herculean effort to sit up; every part of his body writhed with pain; he figured he must have fallen far. He reached up to stroke the thick stream of bandages that wrapped around his head; he could hardly recall the accident that occurred almost two weeks ago. Whenever he tried thinking back to what happened the images became fuzzy and the sound was muffled, like a television with bad reception. It hurt just to think about it.

"Scorpius?"

He recognized that voice; despite the shocking pain that ran up his spine all the way to the back of his head he turned to face Rose, who was standing by the entrance to the hospital wing. Damien Byrne was standing by her side, smiling sheepishly.

"Hullo Malfoy. You're looking better." He said as he walked with Rose towards Scorpius' bed. Scorpius managed a grim smile towards the Ravenclaw Seeker, but he brightened considerably when he turned towards Rose.

"I'm so glad you're conscious now. It's been awhile since the...accident." She said as she looked down towards the floor. Her bottom lip was quivering as if she was suppressing the urge to cry. Scorpius tried his hardest to ignore the dull aching he felt in his chest.

"Yeah...still a bit sore but I reckon it'll get better." He said quietly, thinking back to the 'conversation' they had when he was still unconscious. He wanted to tell her so bad how he thought it was not her fault, but it did not feel appropriate with Damien there.

"I'm afraid I have some apologizing to do, Malfoy." Damien said and stepped forward; Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him, "Paul Monhagen, one of the Beaters on my team, was the one who hit that Bludger in your direction. I want to say sorry on his behalf."

_No wonder everyone likes him. He takes the bloody blame for himself. I wonder why he isn't in Gryffindor?_

"Don't worry about it, Byrne." Scorpius muttered gruffly, not even bothering to look at the Ravenclaw Seeker, "S'not a big deal. You can let Monhagen have a few more minutes of fame." Holden had told him how Paul had been basking in his newfound fame after he had hit him; Scorpius thought it was downright ridiculous. He could not wait until he was able to get out of bed.

"Yeah...about that-that's something else I'd like to apologize for." Damien continued, but Scorpius waved him off. He eyed Rose for a split second, who seemed to interested in her shoes.

"I told you, it's nothing to worry about. Just leave it until our next match." He said emotionlessly. Damien, sensing that he was not wanted in the room (specifically from Scorpius), coughed loudly and made an excuse to leave. Rose protested for a bit, much to Scorpius' chagrin, but she gave in and waved half-heartedly as he hastily made his way out of the room.

"You wanted him to leave the second he came here, didn't you?" Rose stared at him with accusing eyes; he missed those dark blue orbs of hers.

"Never liked the bloke." He replied casually, and leaned back against the soft pillows. He noticed that his bedside table was littered with sweets and Get Well cards, mostly from Tatia and her groupies. He picked up a box of Chocolate Frogs and began eating.

"Scorpius, w-what happened that night during your game…-" Rose's voice began to falter, and he knew she was trying to explain how the accident was her fault. He sighed and waited for her to finish her sentence, but it never came, so he decided to finish it for her.

"It's not your fault, Weasley, so don't act like it is. You're only giving yourself more trouble." He said wearily.

"No, you don't understand-"

"I think I do, Rose." He barely whispered her name, but it was loud enough so that she could hear. Both of them could not even think far back enough to the time where he last addressed her by her first name, if he ever did. Her name sounded foreign on his tongue; it swished around his mouth without any consistency or feeling. It felt like it did not belong there.

Silence filled the gap between them for a few moments. Rose probably figured he was serious since he called her by her first name, so she needed some space to think about it. He understood that. He sat there and stared out of the window to his right, noting how grey the sky was. The rain never seemed to stop. The dull rumbling of thunder was heard in the distance.

"Thank you, Scorpius." She breathed, and he looked up at her. She was smiling faintly, and her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"For what?" He asked, confused. He did not understand why she looked so sad. It bothered him quite a bit. She only shook her head and smiled again before leaving the room. Once he was convinced that she was actually gone he cursed out loud. Women were so damn confusing. Why could not they just give a straight answer instead of making him guess all the time?

"Malfoy." A deep voice echoed throughout the hospital wing, and Damien Byrne appeared by his bedside again. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Back so soon, Byrne? Missed me haven't you?" He said tauntingly, and it was Damien's turn to roll his eyes.

"I came back to talk to you about Rose." He said in a serious tone, and Scorpius knew that it was no joking matter. He straightened up, wincing in pain as he did so, and nodded, motioning for Damien to continue.

"Rose is a good person." He started, and Scorpius scoffed.

"Tell me something that I don't know." He muttered, and Damien smiled, but he did not understand why. The Ravenclaw Seeker cleared his throat and continued.

"I care for her well-being (Scorpius cringed at the mention of this) and I would do anything in my power to make sure that she is out of harm's way. I just need you to promise me one thing." The look in Damien's eyes was intense; even Scorpius felt a little intimidated under his stare.

"Promise me that you will take care of her. Make sure she doesn't get hurt in any way possible. If she does, I'm automatically looking for you." Damien's voice had never sounded so dangerous before. He was always such a nice person, and to hear him speak in such a low foreboding tone made Scorpius shiver. At the same time, however, he could not help but feel confused. Why was he making him promise such a thing?

"She sees something in you, I know that for sure." Damien said as if he read Scorpius' mind, "And I have no idea what it is, but as her friend I'm going to respect her decision and support her in any way that I can. If you have any intention to break that good heart of hers, I'm going to have to break you. Do you understand?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes despite the uneasiness he was feeling on the inside. He did not completely understand what Damien meant when he said that Rose _saw something_ in him, but he decided to put some thought into it later.

"I think you're talking rubbish, Byrne, but alright, I'll keep my word. Can you leave now? I want to rest."

Damien sighed and threw his hands up in defeat, but he obliged and left the room. Scorpius nestled against his pillows and closed his eyes, taking in what Damien had told him just minutes before.

_"She sees something in you, I know that for sure."_

What was that supposed to mean? He could not help but feel a little elated; maybe she was actually beginning to see him in a different way, different than her parents and the rest of the wizarding world.

It was a stretch, he knew that, but it was something at least. He could not help but hope.


	15. Well, It's a Start

**Well, It's a Start**

Rose visited the now conscious Scorpius Malfoy more frequently, and they struck up an odd friendship. It was not a very close one, but the bond they had was friendly enough to make anybody look twice. Rose spent nearly all of her spare periods in the hospital wing, bringing homework from Scorpius' missed classes and sometimes some food to retain his strength. They would waste the hours talking about absolutely nothing, usually arguing on their drastically different opinions on just about everything, from Quidditch to how the way each of their professors marked their assignments.

In the couple of weeks that followed Scorpius was well enough to get out of bed. He did not even have to keep the bandages around his head anymore. By that time it was the beginning of December, and the students at Hogwarts were already talking about the holidays.

"What d'you reckon your parents will get you for Christmas this year, Rosie?" Lily asked one chilly Saturday morning; the sky in the Great Hall reflected the weather outside: a white sky with soft snowflakes fluttering gracefully towards the floor, but they did not pile up into snow; instead they would disappear into nothing.

"I didn't ask for much, I never do. I just enjoy the time we all spend together. It's priceless." Rose replied before gently placing a small forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. She was not ashamed to be part of the crowd already excited for the holidays; Christmas was her favourite time of the year. As a child she enjoyed the presents she received from her parents and vast relatives but when she grew older she realized that she realized that spending time with her loved ones was enough to make the holidays special.

"Cliché." Randy rolled his eyes.

"Corny." Mandy agreed before shoving half a piece of toast into her mouth. Albus snickered and Jane glared at all three of them. Lily sighed and rested her chin on her hand.

"I figured that it was time I told Mum and Dad about Lysander, but seeing that Albus has already gone nutters over it, I'm not so sure anymore...and don't even get me started about James." She muttered as she blew upwards to take her ginger tinged bangs out of her eyes. Out of the corner of Rose's eye Albus was bristling.

"Oh, I reckon that's the usual behaviour for older brothers when they realize that their little sister's old enough to start dating," Rose assured her younger cousin, "Albus and James shouldn't be a factor in all of this. Your parents' approval is what counts."

Albus looked as if he was going to leap out from his seat, but luckily Hugo and Randy were flanked by his sides to prevent him from doing so. Dominique rolled her eyes and muttered something in sarcastic French.

_"'Shouldn't be a factor'? _What am I, a lump of coal? I absolutely have a say in all of this-Lily's my bloody _sister!"_ Albus cried, his green eyes flashing, "And Lily's right-you think my reaction's bad, just wait when James finds-"

"He doesn't have to find out." Lily interjected before taking a sip of her orange juice, "I don't even know if I'm going to break the news to Mum and Dad yet."

Albus' shoulders slumped and he crossed his arms, muttering something under his breath that sounded like "Why don't you just break it off so I don't have anything to worry about?"

"Well what about you, Al? Are you going to tell your Mum and Dad about Lisa?" Rose asked slyly, knowing this was going to get him good. Albus' cheeks flushed a vicious scarlet and grabbed his pumpkin juice to take a long swig, making sure that the glass was covering a good portion of his face.

"No-it's too early." He said quickly, coughing because the pumpkin juice went down a little too quickly. Lily, Rose, Mandy and Dominique laughed at Albus, who only blushed a deeper shade of red. Hugo patted his shoulder comfortingly and Randy gave him a sympathetic look.

"S'okay mate, they're your relatives, they have the right to do this to you." He said sympathetically. Albus buried his face in his hands and moaned quietly to himself.

--

"I completely forgot." Scorpius moaned as he stepped outside into the snowy outdoors; it was a Hogsmeade weekend and he had spent so much time in the hospital wing he had lost track of the days. He ruffled his hair with cold fingers as he trudged along the pathway, following the throng of students that were excitedly marching towards the little village not so far away from the school.

"It's not your fault. You were in the hospital wing for the past few weeks, and plus you got hit in the head with a Bludger. Those are good enough excuses, don't you think?" Holden asked as the first couple of small buildings came into view; Scorpius made sure he was a safe distance away from Tatia's line of vision.

"Oi, Honeydukes is this way!"

Scorpius' head whipped towards the familiar voice; Hugo Weasley was dragging his older sister by the sleeve towards the sweet shop. The lanky, shaggy haired boy was at least half a head taller than Rose, and his limbs looked out of proportion. His loose clothing concealed the worst of his awkwardness at least.

_Maybe you should get Weasley a Christmas present._

He reverted to the old habit of calling her by her surname since he found the whole first name basis too new for him; he decided to try it again when he thought he was ready. He continued to watch Hugo and Rose fight until the elder sibling gave in; Scorpius could not help but smile as both Weasley siblings walked inside Honeydukes together, their arms slung around each other's shoulders. Rose's hair was dappled with white snowflakes and her cheeks were flushed pink from the bitter cold; she looked pinker than her brother. She was laughing...oh how he loved to hear her laugh…

"Er, Malfoy? Malfoy?" It took at least five minutes of Porter Parkinson's hard tapping on Scorpius' shoulder to snap him out of his thoughts; the blond whirled around and glared at his friends.

"Why don't you all bugger off? I have a few things to do on my own here." Scorpius growled, his eyes narrowing into slits. One of Holden's elegantly groomed eyebrows were slightly raised; Porter, Princeton, and Vincent looked as if they were hit in the face with a snowball.

"Let's go." Holden began to gently push the gaping three Slytherins away from Scorpius. When he was far enough the dark boy turned back to give him a sly smile and a nod towards Honeydukes. Scorpius felt his cheeks grow warm despite the cold and he immediately spun on his heel, marching down the snowy path.

_What the bloody hell would she want for Christmas? Would she even accept anything?_

_You don't even have the slightest idea of what to give her, so why are you even worrying?_

His slate grey eyes scanned his surrounding area, feeling hopelessly lost despite the fact that he had visited Hogsmeade many times before.

"Scor?"

The voice was shy and a little haughty-it had to belong to none other than Scorpius' own sister, Lyra Malfoy. He spun around to face her; she was staring at him questionably, her green and silver scarf flapping against her black coat in the wind.

"What is it, Lyra?" He asked wearily. His sister only talked to him when she felt like bothering someone-the usual little sister attitude. As he expected, her thin lips curved into a smirk, reminiscent of his own and their father's, and took a couple of steps closer towards her older brother.

"You look disturbed. As your sibling it's my obligation to console you on whatever's bothering you." She said slyly, peering into his face as if she was searching for something. Her ebony hair floated around her face and she almost looked as if she were underwater. He averted his gaze from her, looking up towards the sky as if he found something interesting up there. His silence was all she needed; she jumped up and laughed deviously.

"You're getting a present for a girl, aren't you?" She rubbed her gloved hands together and smirked again, "Lemme help you; I can help you find the perfect gift. Who is it that you're shopping for?"

He would have gladly accepted his sister's help if it were not for the fact that he was looking for a gift for _Rose Weasley._ She probably would have been repulsed if he mentioned her name. Instead, he shook her head and held his hand up, silently refusing her offer. Lyra glared at him, her grey eyes boring holes into his own.

"So you don't want to tell me who this mystery girl is, hm?" She scoffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She began walking towards a path with a group of carolers, "Fine, that's your decision. Don't come crawling to me once you get rejected!"

Sighing in relief, Scorpius turned the opposite way and began trudging through the powdery snow. He had better get a move on before anyone else caught him in the act.

--

"Have we got everything?" Hugo peered over Rose's shoulder, his arms stuffed with bags from different shops. Rose peered down at the list they had made earlier; it only took her a few seconds to scan it from top to bottom. She turned to smile at her brother.

"I'm pretty sure we've got gifts for pretty much everyone in the family. It's surprising that we actually finished our shopping in one day, considering how many people we have to buy for." She stuffed the list into her jacket pocket and made her way outside of the shop, her arms laden with bags much like Hugo. The moment they stepped into the chilly outdoors, she spotted a familiar Slytherin heading into the Three Broomsticks. Mandy came rushing into view moments afterward, her face flushed from the cold and probably from running.

"I-I just saw Scorpius Malfoy looking at _Pygmy Puffs." _She then broke out into hysterical laughter. Hugo snorted, suppressing his own laugh, and Rose could not help but hold a hand to her mouth to prevent from bursting out like her sister. Scorpius Malfoy, looking at Pygmy Puffs? He was probably looking for a present for his sister, but still, the thought of him examining such tiny furry creatures made her giggle.

"When he caught me looking at him, he turned as red as a tomato and took off somewhere; I thought I just saw him run into the Three Broomsticks…" Mandy mumbled as she recomposed herself. Hugo wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Well, I'm going to go find my mates. I'll see you two later." He said and walked off into the snow. Mandy said the same thing afterwards and dashed off. That left Rose on her own with an armful of shopping bags. She stared straight ahead into the entrance to the Three Broomsticks; she did not want to scour the town to find Lorcan or Thomas, and she was pretty certain that Albus and Lisa were off on their own doing who-knew-what, so she decided to join Scorpius.

She felt a warm relief as she opened the door into the Three Broomsticks; a few students were scattered around the room, drinking and sharing small talk with each other. In the farthest corner of the room sat Scorpius Malfoy, sitting on his own and miserably sipping a steaming mug of Butterbeer. Her heart jumped to her throat as she approached him; his eyes looked lighter for some reason and his hair looked more out of control, probably from the harsh wind and the snow. There were little sparkles of water droplets dappled on his wayward blond spikes; the snowflakes had melted the moment he had arrived.

"Someone seems to have some holiday spirit." Rose grinned as she took the seat across from him. Scorpius' mercury grey eyes flitted from his Butterbeer to her face; though his presence was oddly suffocating, she liked being around him.

"I see you've done some Christmas shopping. How do you manage to buy gifts for your vast family?" He asked, peering at her bags with a raised eyebrow. She giggled and set her bags on the floor, then rested her elbows on the table to prop her chin in her hands.

"I heard you've been doing a bit of shopping yourself. Found a suitable enough Pygmy Puff, have you?" She asked teasingly. Scorpius coughed into his Butterbeer and she giggled again.

"It's not what you're thinking-"

"Unless the Bludger that hit you did some permanent damage to your head, I know you weren't looking at Pygmy Puffs for yourself. I never knew you did Christmas shopping." She said after ordering a Butterbeer from a passing waitress. Scorpius smirked (Rose felt her heart skip a beat or two) and set his mug down on the table. He ruffled his hair and the water droplets shook out, falling down and shimmering in the light like sparkling diamonds.

"I don't, actually, but I was-" He hesitated for a moment and covered it up by taking another swig of his Butterbeer, "I was looking for a gift for my sister."

Suspicious, Rose leaned in a little closer, looking directly into his eyes. They were a metallic grey, smoky in the dark, but silvery in the light. They were fascinating, alluring even. His stare was intense; it drew her in like a magnetic force.

"Oh really now? Your sister wants a Pygmy Puff?" She asked skeptically. The waitress came around to pass Rose her Butterbeer; she thanked her and took a long sip, her eyes never leaving his. Scorpius leaned back in his chair and nodded, though he was now staring at something past her shoulder, trying to avoid her prying gaze.

"Sure, why not? She's a girl...and girls like cute puffy things don't they?" He said casually, and Rose shook her head. Boys were so typical.

"I guess so, if you're talking about Tatia Schultz." She muttered grumpily. She hid her face behind her mug to hide her disappointment. So that was who he had been shopping for. Lyra did not seem like the type to like Pygmy Puffs...she could not find any other logical solution. Scorpius laughed and gulped down the last of his Butterbeer.

"I didn't buy one, if that's what you're thinking." He stood up and donned his jacket, sweeping it over his shoulders before shoving his arms into the sleeves, "The person I'm shopping for deserves something a little more..._decent." _He threw his money on the table and stalked off, leaving a confused Rose Weasley.

--

It was evening now, way past suppertime, and Scorpius was lying in his bed in his dormitory, playing with his stolen Snitch. It whizzed and buzzed in front of his face as he contemplated in the dark.

He ended up not getting anything for Rose, for he could not find anything in Hogsmeade that seemed to be worthy of buying for her. Rose was worth more than candy, school supplies, or a bloody Pygmy Puff. He caught the Snitch in his fist and turned on his side in disappointment. Maybe there was still time…

He stared at the Snitch in his hand, its thin wings twitching, desperate to escape from his grip. A light went off in his head and he bolted straight up from bed, a triumphant smirk on his face.

He had just the thing.

--

The weeks passed by pretty quickly and the much anticipated holidays have finally arrived; the school was practically half empty now due to students leaving to stay home for the next couple of weeks. Rose dragged her trunk all the way to the station with Albus and Jane; the rest of their family had already boarded the Hogwarts Express.

"Christmas is going to be fun this year, especially with little Henri." Jane said excitedly as they heaved their trunks into the train compartment. Henri was their nephew, the son of Victoire and Teddy Lupin. He was born just a month ago.

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to see the little bloke. Hope he can change and all just like Teddy." Albus said as they made their way into the train. Rose smiled and began to climb aboard…

"Weasley."

Rose found it difficult to breathe as she whirled around to face Scorpius Malfoy, looking as serious as ever. His eyes stared straight into hers; in his pale hands was a small square package wrapped in shiny silver wrapping. It was topped with a baby blue bow. She looked down at it and gasped; she did not even get him anything!

"Thank you." She barely whispered as he wordlessly handed it to her, "But I didn't get you anything…"

Scorpius smirked and shook his head, his wild hair moving along with him, "Don't worry about it." He leaned in and whispered in hear ear; she could feel his lips caressing her skin as he spoke in a low voice, "Just make sure not to open it until Christmas, do you understand?" He stepped back and stared at her, his eyes making her feel weak. She nodded and he nodded back.

"Good. Happy Christmas, then. See you in two weeks." He then turned around and walked off to another compartment, his hands casually in his pockets. In an instant he paused, then turned around again.

"Oh, and I didn't get _her _anything, if you were still thinking about that." He swerved on his heel and resumed walking. She stared at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw. She then proceeded to stare at the prettily wrapped package in her hands.

Scorpius Malfoy got her a gift.

And he did not get Tatia Schultz anything.

She fought back the urge to jump up and scream in joy; Christmas looked good so far.


	16. Two Very Different Christmases

_A/N: Time for some family fun._

_Sorry for the late updates; university's killing me._

**Two Very Different Christmases**

"Ron, hurry up! They're here!" Hermione was rushing down the stairs, Ollie in tow. Her maternal instinct never failed her; she heard her children scrunching through the snow all the way from upstairs, and of course Hugo and Rose arguing about something. It was unusual to have them arrive so early in the day; Ron and Hermione expected the train to come in the afternoon like it usually did, but they caught them by surprise by showing up first thing in the morning instead.

"'M comin'…'m comin'…how did they get here? Weren't we supposed to pick them up in the afternoon or something?" He grumbled, stepping out of their bedroom with sleep-ridden hair and half open eyes. He rubbed the back of his head and yawned as he dragged himself downstairs.

"That's what I thought, but I guess the train was a little ahead of schedule. At least they made it home safely." Hermione said. Ollie looked up at Ron questionably and meowed in amusement; the red haired man's disheveled appearance entertained him.

"Oh shut up, you know I'm excited to see them." He spat down at the little orange cat, and Ollie hissed in retaliation. Hermione wrenched the door open and met the five beaming faces of her children.

"Mum, Dad!" Rose cried and leaped into Hermione's arms; Mandy and Randy waved excitedly as they wheeled their trunks inside. Ron patted Hugo on the shoulder and ruffled Jane's hair.

"You're really sprouting aren't you, son?" Ron chuckled; Hugo was only fifteen and he was already Hermione's height. The shaggy haired boy flushed and attempted to hide his embarrassment by laughing it off.

"Must've gotten it from you." He smirked, and the rest of the family laughed along with him. Ollie mewed audibly and Jane bent over to pick him up. He purred contently and licked the youngest Granger-Weasley's knuckles.

"It feels so great to be home." Rose breathed once she let go of Hermione.

"And it's great to have you all back for the holidays." Hermione peered over her eldest daughter's shoulder, eyeing the trunks behind her, "Now why don't all of you settle in and I'll make us some breakfast?"

"Breakfast!" Randy and Hugo exclaimed in unison, and immediately began hauling their trunks upstairs. Mandy clamped her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. Everyone else broke out into laughter once again.

--

Scorpius yawned and stretched the kinks out of his spine as he stepped out of the train compartment. The Hogwarts Express arrived at Platform 9 3/4 a little earlier than expected, so he and Lyra had to find out how to get home. He cringed when he vaguely remembered the fact that his house was in bloody _Wiltshire_, and not anywhere nearby in London, like most of the kids around here-the Weasleys in particular.

"Why don't you just Apparate like what Albus Potter did? He just did Side-Along Apparition with his sister a few seconds ago!" Lyra protested, and Scorpius glared at her. Albus Potter, who had turned seventeen a couple of months earlier than him, already knew how to Apparate. His ruddy famous father probably taught him; he wondered if he taught Rose how to do it…

But then again her birthday just passed; it was in November, so she probably did not know how.

_How the bloody hell do you know Rose Weasley's birthday?_

He shook off the odd question and looked around him; the students that were of age were Apparating with their siblings, and some parents somehow found out that the train arrived early, so they were already there, ready to take their children home. He scratched the back of his head, trying to think up of an idea.

"Uh-" He noticed Lyra's temper was growing fast, and he began to grow nervous. He really did not like it when his sister was angry.

"Scorpius, Lyra." That drawling voice, it had to belong to none other than their father. Both of the Malfoy children spun around on their heels to face their parents; Astoria looked slightly relieved at the fact that her children had decided to stay for the holidays. Draco, however, looked as unimpressed as always, his arms crossed and his face laden with a bored expression.

"Mother, Father...how did you-" Lyra started, but Draco interrupted her.

"That's of no importance. Come now, we're leaving." He whirled around, his black coat flapping ominously, and Astoria stared back sympathetically.

"Do you need any help with your luggage, dear? Here, I'll wheel your trunk and you can worry about carrying Sunset." The dark haired woman took hold of Lyra's trunk and began following Draco. Sunset, Lyra's Bengal cat, purred calmly in her owner's arms. Scorpius looked down at his owl cage; his brown owl, Ferdinand, was sitting silently on his perch, staring out into the distance.

"Hurry up, Scorpius! What are you staring at?" Lyra called out, and Scorpius snapped out of his trance and continued dragging his trunk out of the station.

--

The few days that had passed had been very peaceful and relaxing; Rose always loved the time she spent at home. Though the food at Hogwarts was filling nothing could compare to good old homemade food, and no one else knew that better than the grandchildren of Molly Weasley. They visited their grandparents yesterday for dinner with the Potters and George's family. It was good to see Fred again; he secured a job at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes with his father, and his corny jokes always lightened the mood.

Today Rose was relaxing in her room, sitting on her bed with one of her favourite Muggle books, _Pride and Prejudice_ by Jane Austen, whom her younger sister was named after; Hermione was a big fan of the Muggle writer, and Rose could easily see why, particularly in this story. The storyline sort of reminded her of the story between her parents; Ron and Hermione had recited their story to their children many times, though both of them had different interpretations of it. Sometimes it was hard to choose who to believe.

For some odd reason Rose's eyes began to slowly drift away from her book and onto the shiny package sitting on her desk across the room. A light blush swept over her cheeks and she quickly reverted back to her book.

In the couple of days that had passed since she left for home she had never thought of Scorpius Malfoy until now; she remembered the way he looked when he handed her the small silvery box, all serious and business-like. She remembered how awkward his hair looked, how it always stuck up and out in odd places and how it never seemed to lie flat, and also how it looked almost white when the sun shone on it. She pictured his face, pale and chiseled, and his voice, deep, thick, and always sounding like he was bored or unamused.

And how could she forget about those eyes?

Those eyes, slick as mercury and yet hard as gunmetal, the pair of eyes that could cut through you with just one stare. If looks could kill, he should consider a profession in staring.

Rose felt her cheeks heat up again and she realized what she was doing: she was thinking about Scorpius Malfoy, particularly how he _looked_, out of all things. Okay, so maybe he was a bit of a treat to look at, but that did not mean anything, right? There had to be tons of girls at school who probably thought the same thing, but then again when did she ever think like the other girls?

A sudden rapping at her door startled her enough to forget about what she was thinking about-or _who_ she was thinking about, that might have been a better way to put it.

"Rose, Rose! You in there?" Hugo's voice was muffled due to the thick wooden door. A little irritated, Rose rolled her eyes and moved to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Yes, why?" She asked, and waited for his answer.

"We're gonna have a snowball fight outside. Wanna join?" He asked. Rose cringed; snowball fights with her siblings were always disastrous. They always ended up in everyone teaming up on her. When she took too long to answer, Hugo spoke up again.

"C'mon, I promise I won't team up on you." She could hear the smile in his voice, and though she hated to admit it, she could not help but feel excited for the upcoming snowball fight.

"Alright, I'm coming. Meet you downstairs." Hugo let out a yelp of praise and she heard his hurried footsteps bounding down the stairs. Shaking her head and smiling at the same time, Rose moved to grab her scarf and her gloves.

--

It was deathly quiet in the Malfoy Manor, which was something to be expected. Scorpius sat at his desk, stroking Ferdinand's dark feathers. His chin was resting in his palm and there was a bored expression on his face. He hated coming home for the holidays, but he really had no choice. All of his friends left Hogwarts for Christmas so if he stayed he probably would have been just as bored. At least there was a plus to staying at home for two weeks: he did not have to deal with Tatia Schultz. It was a boring, but very relieving vacation for him.

He wondered if Rose heeded his words and actually was waiting to open his present on Christmas morning. He admitted that the silence was a little more deafening without her around; arguing with her had been his main source of entertainment these days.

"Scor?" Lyra's shy voice murmured from the other side of his door. Grumbling in frustration, Scorpius figured that she was as bored as he was and had decided to come bother him.

"What do you want?" He asked, and spun around on his chair to face the door, which was still closed.

"I'm bored. Let me in." The girl whined, and Scorpius slapped a hand to his forehead. He really did not have anything to lose, so he agreed. Lyra walked in, her black hair swaying gracefully as she stepped over to sit on the edge of her older brother's bed.

"I hate coming home. There's nothing to do." She said frustratingly, and moved to lie down on her back. She sprawled her limbs out on the bed, looking like an odd starfish. Scorpius snorted and shifted back in his chair to feed Ferdinand.

"Tell me about it." He agreed grimly, and he heard Lyra laugh a little.

"Say, did you ever find a present for that girl?" Her question threw Scorpius off balance. The mention of 'that girl' caused images of Rose to flood into his mind; her dark blue depths were sparkling, and her smile was broad, genuine, and directed towards him...

"Uh, yeah...yeah I did." He replied distractedly, shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the images. Lyra sat up to stare at her brother questionably.

"You alright? You look like you're having a fever or something. Your face is all red." Lyra smirked; she meant something different behind her words, and Scorpius knew what she was trying to say. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as his sister broke out into fits of hysterical laughter.

_"You're in love!" _She shrieked, falling backwards on the bed from laughing so hard, "Scorpius Malfoy, _in love!" _

"Shut up, will you? The whole house is going to go deaf." Scorpius hissed, but Lyra continued laughing. She calmed down after a few minutes and sat up again, wiping the tears from her eyes.

'Alright, alright," She flicked her hair behind her shoulder, "who's the lucky girl, hmm?"

Scorpius flushed again and quickly turned his face away from his sister in a feeble attempt to avoid her noticing. Lyra giggled.

"T-that's none of your business." He muttered nearly incoherently, and that only made Lyra laugh louder. She crawled towards the edge of the bed so she could peer into her brother's face with an intimidating stare.

"Oh c'mon, it's not like everyone isn't going to find out."

He cringed; she did have a point there. School had its ways of prying into everybody's social lives, especially for him. Who did not want to know who Scorpius Malfoy was interested in? At least he has not been making it so obvious. If Lyra guessed correctly he would have...what would he do? He did not even know.

"Scorpius…" Lyra whined, and he glared at her. He was not going to cave in; if she wanted to find out so badly she would have to figure it out for herself.

"Get out of my room, Lyra." He said scathingly, and she gave him a contemptuous stare. Grey and grey.

"Fine," She huffed as she hopped off her brother's bed. She smoothed out her skirt and flicked her hair again, "but you _do_ know I'll figure it out eventually."

He smirked and leaned backwards on his chair as she slammed the door shut behind her.

"That's fine with me." He smirked to himself.

--

The Burrow was much too small to hold the entire Weasley clan, so Christmas was to be celebrated in the garden, inside a large tent. It looked like a regular camping tent on the outside, but when Rose clambered inside, it looked like a large dining room, with a long table that looked like it could sit every single one of her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and immediate family. The best thing about the tent was that it was magically heated, so no one had to worry about freezing to death while dinner was served. At the very end of the table was a fairly large room, the floor laden with large plush pillows for sitting. A tall, lavish Christmas tree sat at the very end, glittering and glowing with its many ornaments, topped with a shimmering star. The bottom of the tree was flooded with presents wrapped in an array of colours.

"Brilliant." Albus, James, Randy and Hugo breathed in awe.

"Hello boys! Happy Christmas!" Arthur greeted his grandson with a warm smile. Molly was still back in the house preparing the food, with the help of Hermione, Fleur, Angelina, and Audrey.

"Oh, are we late?" Rose spun around and beamed at her cousin-in-law, Teddy Lupin, who was just crawling into the tent. His hair was a flaming red today, probably to reflect today's special occasion. Victoire stepped in soon after him with a blue bundle in her arms. Rose, Lily, and Mandy gasped.

"Henri!" They exclaimed excitedly. Victoire laughed and pretended to look apalled.

"Oh, and you don't even give your own cousin a warm greeting?" She said sarcastically. Rose peered into her older cousin's arms; Henri stared back at her with wide, liquid blue eyes. His short hair was a forest green, contrasting with his father's scorching red and the colours of Christmas. His skin was tinged pink from the cold, but it looked flawless, soft. He looked so _perfect. _It was probably from his mother's Veela heritage.

"I'm guessing he can change his appearance too." Lily commented, stroking Henri's soft fuzzy hair. Teddy nodded and crossed his arms, a proud smile on his face.

"Yep-when he was just born his hair was a white blond; kinda scared me for a minute 'cause I thought he was a Malfoy-" Everyone except Victoire and Rose laughed, "-but then seconds later it turned into a pure black, then a bright turquoise."

"Just like yours when you were born." James chimed as he approached them. He was beginning to look more like his namesake as he got older, though with chocolate brown eyes instead of hazel. Teddy gave him an odd stare.

"How the bloody hell would you know what I looked like? You weren't even a thought yet!" Everyone burst out into laughter.

Rose, however, was standing very still with a red face. The moment Teddy mentioned 'Malfoy', images of Scorpius flashed into her head and she was having a hard time getting rid of them.

"Rose, are you alright?" Lily asked concernedly, "You look a little flushed."

Mandy snickered and Rose glared at her. She shook her head and put on a small smile.

"I'm fine," She answered calmly, "it's probably just the cold weather outside."

"Alright everyone, take your seats! Dinner's ready!" Molly climbed into the tent just minutes before; the boys hooted in excitement and rushed towards the table to take their chairs; Molly rolled her eyes and left the tent to get the food. Rose laughed and walked with Lily, Mandy, and Victoire to take their seats. Roxanne and Dominique were already there, chatting animatedly about what they thought they were getting for Christmas this year.

Dinner was as eventful as usual; James, Teddy, and Fred, who were supposed to be sophisticated adults by now, were scolded by Molly, Ginny, and Angelina for charming their food to walk across the table; infant Molly Weasley, the daughter of Percy and Audrey, was throwing a temper tantrum and began throwing her carrot bits everywhere; Ron broke out the corniest jokes imaginable, and Harry talked about one of his most interesting Auror stories, which naturally caught everyone's attention.

After dinner, the family gathered in the room with the cushions to hand out presents. Everyone had their arms full with gifts; Albus thanked Merlin he had such a large family. Everyone ripped open the pretty, shiny wrapping paper and undid the nice silk bows to reveal what was hidden underneath; Rose received many nice things this year, including several new books from her parents, the usual knitted lettered jumper from her grandparents, some novelty joke items from her Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, a leather-bound day planner from Harry and Ginny (she always wanted one of these), and a box of Chocolate Frogs from Albus himself.

"Looks like we've got a good haul this year, don'tcha think?" Hugo said excitedly as they approached the front door of their home; the sky was a pitch black now and the full moon hung over them as Ron opened their front door. Rose's siblings stumbled inside, tired from the day's events. She dragged her feet all the way upstairs to her room; when she got there she dropped all of her presents on the floor, leaving it there for her to organize in the morning. She was too tired to be neat and orderly at the moment.

When she turned her bedside lamp on, something glimmered in the corner; Rose's eyes shifted towards her desk, where the silvery square package still sat.

_Scorpius, _she thought immediately as she scrambled over to grab the shiny package. She stared at it for a few minutes, taking in its simplicity. The silver wrapping was glinting in the dim light, and the blue bow sat there, perfectly knotted. She wondered if he tied it himself.

_Just open it, for crying out loud! _Her conscience screamed at her as she began untying the bow. Instead of tearing the wrapping apart like what she did with the other presents she received, she plucked off the tape and began to simply just unwrap the present.

_Tear it open! _Her conscience nagged as she gasped at the black, velvety box that was sitting on her lap. With trembling fingers, she pried it open…

A single, glittering golden ball sat inside. She took it into her hands and examined it closely. All of a sudden, the ball jumped up and a pair of metal, golden wings sprouted out from its sides. It flittered around her head, twitching in all sorts of different directions.

"A Snitch…" She mumbled thoughtfully as it whizzed around; watching it made her dizzy. She expected it to buzz around forever, and she worried about how she was going to catch it, but then it began to slow down; it lowered itself into its velvet box and sat still, its shiny wings fluttering one last time before retreating inside the Snitch.

How did he manage to get a _Snitch_ in Hogsmeade? Then again, he _was_ a Malfoy. He probably had his sources.

She stroked the ball with her index finger, feeling the raised intricate patterns under her skin. This must have cost a bit of money, she figured. She closed the box and placed it on her bedside table. She needed to owe him back somehow.

"_Oh, and I didn't get _her_ anything, if you were still thinking about that."_ His slick voice echoed in her head, and she could not help but blush. Scorpius Malfoy gave her an expensive looking present, and Tatia did not get _anything._

It was something worth bragging about, at least.

--

"Pass the gravy, would you Lyra?" Narcissa Malfoy's voice echoed throughout the wide, grey dining room. The Malfoy family was 'enjoying' a nice quiet Christmas dinner. Scorpius swirled his pasta half-heartedly with his fork. He did not even feel hungry.

"So how is school, Scorpius?" Lucius' drawling voice piped up. Scorpius lifted his messy blond head to face his grandfather, who was staring directly at him with his usual unimpressed gaze.

"Er, it's okay I guess. Not much happening." He replied indifferently, shrugging his shoulders. He noticed how his voice sounded just as bored as his grandfather's.

"Is your head feeling better, dear? That was a terrible accident." Narcissa asked as she sliced through her beef with her knife. Scorpius ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it up even more.

"Yeah. It's fine now." He replied politely, and the family elapsed into another awkward silence. The only sound present was the clanking of the silverware against the plates, and the occasional dull thump of a glass being set down on the table.

"I heard Andromeda's grandson just recently became a father." Draco blurted unexpectedly. Narcissa stiffened at the mention of her sister's name; Lucius gave his son a pointed stare for a minute, then his eyes softened at the slightest.

"Ah, so the son of the werewolf has a cub." Lucius sneered, and the entire family broke out in laughter, except for Lyra and Scorpius. They exchanged awkward glances.

Scorpius wanted to stand up and retort that Teddy Lupin was _not _a werewolf, but he thought of the consequences and stayed silent. He figured Lyra was thinking the same.

They were excused after dinner; Scorpius marched wordlessly up to his room. His family did not have a Christmas tree; a small pile of gifts awaited him on his desk. There was a long package resting by the window, and excitement burst through him; somebody got him a new broom. He decided to open it first; he tore through the wrapping, gasping when he realized it was the newest broom out on the market: The Free Fall. It was the best broom money could buy; only professionals used these. The broom was a slick black all around, except for the logo etched in silver on the handle.

Scorpius checked the tag; it was from his father. He shook his head in disbelief. His father never gave him a present before. He flipped the tag over and over, trying to find his mother's name on it, but it was nowhere to be found.

Shaking it off for now, he decided to open his other presents. He got a box of sweets from Lyra, a pair of black leather Quidditch gloves from his mother (he wondered why his parents decided to get him separate presents this year, but he did not complain about it), and a silver ring from his grandparents. He slid it through his right ring finger with ease; it fit perfectly. It was plain silver with two snakes engraved on it, slithering around the circular piece of jewelry. He vaguely remembered his grandfather talking about how it was a Malfoy tradition to receive a ring when they were of age. Scorpius wondered why he did not just give it to him for his birthday, which made more sense.

He leaned back in his chair, the light shining from the ceiling catching on his new ring. Ferdinand was hooting contently in his cage, and Scorpius tossed a few owl treats inside to shut him up. His thoughts inadvertently drifted over to Rose. He wondered if she opened his gift already. He hoped she liked what he 'got' her. He smirked at the thought of Tatia throwing a tantrum because he did not get her anything. Served her right.

He figured it was not such a bad Christmas after all. He managed to get Rose a present in time, Tatia was probably fuming, and his father surprised him by giving him the best broom in existence. He could not imagine how things could get any worse.

_Maybe you shouldn't be so hopeful, _his conscience muttered, but he ignored it for now and closed his eyes, taking in what little Christmas spirit he could get in the Malfoy Manor.


	17. A Fight You Know You Can’t Win

_A/N: An Albus-less chapter. Sigh._

_But don't worry, we haven't seen the last of him!_

**A Fight You Know You Can't Win**

All good things must come to an end, and that, unfortunately, included the Christmas holidays. Before everyone knew it they were on the Hogwarts Express, steaming full speed back to school. Rose had a good feeling about the new year, though she could not explain why. She was seated in what seemed like the noisiest compartment on the whole train: her siblings were playing a Muggle card game and were accusing each other of cheating. A dull pulsing began to form at the back of her head and she knew it was from their bickering. She mumbled something about getting some fresh air before leaving the compartment; the narrow hallways of the train were much quieter and she felt like she had more air to breathe.

Rose walked down the hallway, her index finger tracing the wall. She felt the cold glass of the compartment doors sliding underneath her touch, and the grainy wood of the doorframe raising under the tips of her fingers. The air was a little cold and she forgot to bring her jumper with her; she was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, leaving her bare forearms exposed to the January chill. She stopped walking and unconsciously slid down to the floor, sitting with her back against the wall. Luckily nobody was around so no one would have thought odd of her sitting in the middle of the hallway with her knees to her chest. She reached into her pocket and took out the shiny Snitch Scorpius had given her for Christmas; she rotated it between her fingers, watching wordlessly as the light caught on its intricate engraved patterns.

The ball then sprouted a pair of metal wings and lifted itself off of her hand, twitching animatedly in front of her. Rose's sapphire depths flitted in unison with the Snitch, left, right, up, down, diagonally…

And then it was gone.

Rose snapped out of her trance, shaking her head and blinking furiously to make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her. When she regained her focus, she noticed she was barely a foot away from a pair of legs, covered in black pants. They were pretty _long _legs, she dared to add. She inclined her head very slowly and found herself staring up at a smirking Scorpius Malfoy. His thin pale fingers were curled around her-well it was _his _originally, she vaguely pointed out-Snitch, which was now wingless and motionless.

"I won't even bother to ask what you're doing out here, and on the floor of all things." He said, and held out his free hand towards her. Her cheeks feeling unnaturally warm, Rose reached out towards him-she felt a little intimidated when she realized her hand was quite small compared to his-and let him pull her up with relative ease. She got a better look at him now that they were both standing; she remembered his wayward blond hair, his ashen, chiseled face and of course the cold, piercing grey stare. He was clad in black pants, shirt, shoes, and blazer, as usual. She noticed how he wore his clothes in a neater fashion than his uniform.

"Are you feeling alright? You look feverish." His voice, no matter how much emotion he tried to convey, always sounded unimpressed and bored to her. He surprised her by placing a hand on her forehead; she gasped at his cold touch. Instead of chilling her, it actually made her warmer. Scorpius rolled his eyes and jerked his head towards a compartment not so far from hers.

"C'mon then." He muttered, and she nodded as he led her down the hall. She felt a little nervous at first, knowing that he had just invited her to a compartment full of his..._eccentric_ Slytherin friends, but he surprised her further when he slid the door open, revealing a reasonably empty compartment. The only thing occupying it was an owl cage, sitting on the seat by the window. An owl with dark brown feathers hooted calmly, its wide amber eyes fixated on hers.

"W-where are the others?" Rose asked, finally speaking. Scorpius gestured towards the seat across from the owl cage and she sat down. He then moved to sit beside the owl, where he reached in to give it an owl treat.

"Felt like being on my own today." He replied casually, and she nodded, her fists resting on her thighs. She had to keep her jaw tight to prevent her teeth from clattering together. She wondered if her hair looked alright, but then again her hair always looked like a mess to her. Was she dressed decent enough? Did she look stupid to him? For some reason the things that never mattered before meant _everything_ now.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Scorpius leaned in a little, his eyes drilling holes into her. She gulped and managed a short nod, which actually looked more like a twitch. He leaned back and raised an elegant blond eyebrow.

"'M fine," She mumbled, hoping that spoken word would convince him, "j-just...it's just a little cold I guess." Her hands moved to her upper arms and she rubbed them quickly to get some blood flowing. If only the rushing blood from her face would somehow trickle down to the rest of her body…

Her eyes flicked over to his for a second, but the intensity of his stare was too much for her and she found herself staring at her hands again. She heard a few rustling noises but she did not dare to look up.

"Figured someone smart like you would know better than to walk around in a t-shirt in January." She heard a smile in his voice, and she could not help to roll her eyes. In an instant she felt smooth fabric caress her shoulders; her head snapped up and noticed a black blazer had been draped over her. She stared straight ahead of her to see Scorpius sitting like he was just moments ago, but this time he was without his blazer, just in a black button down shirt. Come to think of it, she actually liked the way he dressed outside of school.

"Thank you," She barely whispered as she pulled his blazer around her small frame, "you didn't have to, you know."

Scorpius tossed the Snitch up in the air and caught it. He smirked back at her, and she felt a million electric shocks course up and down her spine.

"If there's one proper thing my father taught me, it was how to be a gentleman." He said smoothly. He underhanded it towards her and she caught it in her cupped hands. Rose giggled.

"From what my mother told me he doesn't seem like one." She said in between her laughs, the small golden ball rolling around in between her fingers. Scorpius shrugged his shoulders and reached in the owl cage to smooth out the owl's feathers.

"I guess he wasn't much of one when he was younger," He opened the cage and the owl jumped out to rest on his arm, "but around my mother he seems like the perfect husband."

"Maybe he grew up a little since his school days." Rose suggested. Scorpius shrugged again.

"Unfortunately he couldn't find the time to grow into a perfect father either." He said flatly, and the owl hooted as if to agree. Rose frowned and averted her gaze to the window. She could see Hogwarts in the distance; they were to arrive soon.

"Oh, I don't think you've met Ferdinand yet," Scorpius said after a few moments of strained silence. "he's a bloody nuisance when you don't feed him, but most of the time he makes up for the lack of company at home."

Rose leaned forward and cooed to the proud looking owl; Scorpius brought his arm a little forward and Ferdinand fluttered over to her shoulder.

"Smart bird, isn't he?" Rose reached up to stroke Ferdinand's feathers, "We used to have a family owl named Pigwidgeon and he was such an excitable little thing. Never managed to stay in one place; kind of reminds me of Hugo when he was younger-actually he might've not grown out of it so much, now that I think about it."

Scorpius leaned back again and ran his fingers through his hair; though she was a little too far she figured that his sent would waft into the air as he ruffled his blond spikes. Whenever she sat with him during their spare periods she always enjoyed breathing in his scent, that musky woodsy smell that seemed a little odd for him to have since he always seemed like someone with a more..._tame_ scent. She also noticed that he had a habit of messing up his hair, as if he never wanted it to be straight. She hardly remembered what it looked like when it was, since it was only straight in the years she absolutely loathed him. No one ever took the time to look at someone they hated.

"Did you always sound this smart?" He asked, and Rose flushed again. She did not know how to answer that.

"Ever since I met you, it seemed like you always had something to say, and when you do say something you sound years older than you look. Not saying that it's a bad thing of course." He spoke again, and she knew he was expecting an answer. She lifted her chin slightly to look into his eyes, which had been on her the entire time.

"I dunno, I guess the only thing I could say is that I've gotten it from my Mum. She's the person I hope to be someday, ever since I was little, and I've never found a better role model than her." She replied. Her fingers were fumbling with the Snitch; the ball was rolling around faster now in her grip.

"I'm not surprised." He said. Ferdinand jumped off of Rose's shoulder and fluttered over to sit on the windowsill. She looked up again; Scorpius was now staring out the window.

"I used to think that my father was right about everything. He always seemed so firm in what he had to say. I followed him because he made me believe that he spoke the truth. He taught me how to hate Muggles and Muggle-borns, and how to act as if everybody was a level lower than us. He injected all of this prejudice in me," He paused for a minute, and then added in a much lower voice, "and I took so long to finally figure out how wrong he's been this entire time."

Rose felt as if she had just swallowed an anvil; her chest felt so heavy. She moved to sit beside him, not fully aware of how close they were. She reluctantly reached out to touch his arm.

"It's not your fault." She whispered, and he turned his head to look at her. It was hardly visible, but Rose could see the slightest hint of vulnerability in his mercury grey eyes. The sun peeked out through the clouds and shone in through the window, illuminating them; they almost looked like a liquid silver. His hair looked white. His sharp features were emphasized. He looked like he was carved out of stone-a living, breathing sculpture. She felt her heart leap to her throat and it was suddenly very hard to breathe.

"Funny how you can change one's opinion with so little words." He said, and the corner of his mouth turned up in his trademark smirk. Did he even know how to smile properly? Oh, it did not matter. His smirk was a good enough distraction.

"Don't mention it." She breathed, and leaned back towards the cushiony seat, her eyes now staring at the empty seat across from her. She felt her airways clear up, now that she was not looking at him directly. She felt his shoulder brushing against hers as the Hogwarts Express trudged along the tracks; with all of the small contact between them she feared she was going to have a cardiac arrest; her heart was practically pounding against her ribcage.

"We're slowing down," He said after a few minutes, "I think we're here."

Rose's head turned towards his direction to stare out the window; Hogwarts was towering over them, its rooftops capped with glistening white snow. Excitement rushed through her-she was back, finally. It felt like forever. Home was definitely a nice place to retreat to, but she needed to get back to reality. Plus, NEWTs were coming up, she no longer had time to waste.

"Guess I'd better head back," She rose from her seat, albeit reluctantly, "I'll see you in school?"

He looked up at her and nodded slowly, his smirk still intact. She flashed him one last smile before stumbling out of the compartment. She closed the door behind her and sighed, her eyes closing slowly. She had an idea to what she was feeling at the moment, but she was afraid to admit it. She could not possibly...it was _wrong. _She could not feel any sort of affection for him-he was a _Malfoy._

_But you said you were trying to look past his name. Obviously you can see more in him than what he appears to be._

What caused the human mind to conjure up a conscience? She hated it when she talked back to herself, even if it was just a mental conversation. She knew that if _anything_ was to happen between them there would be chaos in her family. Nearly everyone despised the Malfoys, and her dad did mention that Granddad would be upset if she ever-she gulped at the word-_married _him.

_Thinking that far ahead, are you? You have high hopes. Plus, Dad mentioned that Granddad would be upset if you married a _Pureblood, _not specifically a Malfoy._

But he _was_ a Pureblood, regardless of his name.

_Oh, that doesn't matter so much to you anyway. It's the name that's bothering you. You already said that he was different than his family, so what's the harm in feeling this way?_

She could not win. She sighed again as she opened the door to her siblings' compartment; they were already getting ready to leave.

"What took you so long?" Mandy asked.

"That desperate to get away from your family, eh?" Randy sniggered.

"After growing up with us, you'd think she'd be used to it by now." Hugo grinned.

"Oh, stop it, all of you." Jane protested. Rose broke out into laughter and pretty soon her siblings joined in with her. Icarus flapped wildly in his cage, hooting excitedly.

"You're rubbin' off on him, sis; he's just as excited for school as you are!" Hugo chuckled. Rose knelt in front of the cage and tossed the great bird an owl treat. She wondered if Icarus knew Ferdinand. Maybe they were owl friends or something. She had no idea why she was thinking about this.

The train came to a full stop, and Rose and her siblings gathered their things to set off for school. They melted in with the throng of students, mixing and mingling with friends they have not seen in nearly two weeks. Rose nearly bumped into a fourth year twice her size; it kind of worried her, the way everyone seemed to be so tall. Was she really that short?

A flash of blond in the crisp sunlight wiped all of her self-conscious thoughts away; she turned her head quickly, her bronze waves whipping against her face. As she expected, a tall boy with untidy platinum hair and cold grey eyes was shoving his way through the crowd. He was talking with a fellow Slytherin-it was Holden Zabini.

As if he knew all along, Scorpius Malfoy turned his head at the slightest, and for an instant their eyes met. Silver and sapphire.

And in another instant, it was gone. His gaze flickered back towards Holden, and they were talking again.

But that was all she needed. She could not hold back the smile that threatened to appear; as giddy and schoolgirl-like as she felt, inside she knew it was wrong. She was not allowed to fall for a Malfoy.

But she knew she could not hold her defences forever.


	18. This Can't Be

_A/N: Yaaayy early chapter._

_This has been written when I was really supposed to be paying attention at a lecture. I wonder if the person behind me had been sneaking a few peeks at what I was writing. Hopefully they do not think I'm crazy. 'Cause I'm most definitely not. I'm serious. I think._

--

**This Can't Be**

The first few weeks back were relatively easy for Scorpius; the workload somehow did not seem as bad as he expected it to be and the Quidditch season looked like it belonged to his house this year; they remained undefeated-well Ravenclaw was also undefeated but that did not matter to him at the moment.

What made the new year even better was that Tatia Schultz had been avoiding him almost entirely, save for a small wave or a smile whenever they passed each other. This had to be the best year yet.

It was now the first week of February; Scorpius had just finished classes for the day and was heading out to Quidditch practice. Snow laced the floor and the sky was a crisp, clear blue; the sun shone directly overhead and it reflected off the snow, blinding everybody. He hoped the glare would not affect practice today.

He heard a few familiar voices in the distance and he automatically turned to look at the beech tree by the lake; he found it kind of odd to find a group of students sitting under a tree in such cold weather. Rose and her many relatives were gathered in an unorganized semi-circle, just talking. The sun dappled on her bronze tendrils and her dark blue eyes were visible even from where he was standing. She threw her head back and laughed at something her brother had just said; he could hear her laughter as if he was sitting right beside her. The wind swished in the trees and ruffled her jacket. He imagined the tiny group of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Lately the world had become more attuned, more interesting to him for some reason, as if he actually now had a reason to pay attention to his surroundings.

She noticed him standing there and she inclined her head a little to smile at him; his breathing stopped for a minute and he managed to wave back. That smile, the same smile that was the reason he was able to conjure a Patronus, it was all for him, in those few seconds that she looked over to him above the heads of her fellow Weasleys. Nothing else mattered except for that smile whenever he saw it. His father, his mother, his sister, Tatia, his Slytherin friends, they no longer existed when she smiled. Only she did.

"Oi, Malfoy! Whatcha starin' over there for? It's time for practice, mate." Theo shouted over the chilly breeze, and Scorpius was dragged back into reality. She was no longer looking at him, he noticed. She resumed her cheerful conversation with her brothers, sisters, and cousins. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, making the back stick up, and continued walking, making sure not to slip on the ice lining the stone path.

--

The cold had finally gotten to them and the Weasley family decided to resume the rest of their day in the warmth of the Gryffindor common room. Rose slumped in her squashy armchair, sighing as the roaring fire melted the numbness in her limbs. Hugo and Jane were lying on their stomachs by her feet, immersed in a game of chess (the both of them inherited Ron's knack for the game), and everyone else was watching them. Randy sat with his back against the side of Rose's chair, strumming an acoustic guitar. He was probably the most 'Muggle-washed' out of the family; he loved Muggle rock music and that particularly dangerous pastime, skateboarding. He started a band with three other Muggle-born students, called The Whomping Willows. Rose had to admit that they had skill; she had heard them play before.

"Oh, it's Al. Looks like he's finished for the day." Dominique piped up, and everyone's heads turned towards the portrait hole. Rose felt a jolt of excitement; she had not seen Albus on the train, and she wondered why he had been hiding. Lily had been oddly quiet about her brother since they came back to school, but whenever someone mentioned him she would break into a fit of strained giggles. Now that Albus was here in front of them, they could plainly see why he had gone into hiding in the first place. In all essence Albus was still Albus, but now he was wearing a pair of glasses with rectangular lenses and a black frame. Lily rolled on her back and laughed hysterically, her legs kicking up in the air. Mandy held her stomach because it ached from giggling. Hugo, Jane, Dominique, Roxanne, and Rose stared with wide eyes and slack jaws. Randy stopped playing his guitar.

"Oh, hello there Uncle Harry. So nice of you to drop in." Hugo grinned, and Albus gave him a rude hand gesture. The black haired boy moved to plop down on the armchair across Rose's, a sour look on his face. Rose gave him a sympathetic smile.

"They don't look so bad, and at least you got different ones from your Dad's." She suggested, but Albus was still scowling. He pushed up his glasses with his index finger before crossing his arms in a stubborn manner.

"Why didn't I see this coming? _Why?_" He muttered, and the brilliant green eyes behind the rectangular shaped lenses flicked over to Rose's dark blue ones, "Dad was mad enough to suggest a pair that looked _exactly _like his, but fortunately I found these ones. You should've seen James' face when he found out I needed these; couldn't stop laughing for at least an hour, I swear."

Rose giggled at the thought of James Potter laughing at his younger brother simply because he had to get glasses. At nineteen everyone thought he would grow out of his childish manner, but then again her cousin Fred was no different.

"So you gotta wear them all the time, eh?" Randy asked. Albus nodded glumly, the flames from the fireplace reflecting on his shiny rectangular lenses.

"You look smart with them on. Maybe it'll help you improve on your schoolwork." Roxanne teased. Albus groaned and clamped his eyes shut as his relatives laughed. Randy began strumming sporadically, jokingly belting out random lyrics that had to do something with Albus' glasses and his uncanny resemblance to his father, and everyone joined in. Rose leaned forward to give her best friend a pat on the knee. Nobody liked to be compared to their parents, especially if their father was the famous Harry Potter, and out of all people her family should have understood and respected that. She gave him an 'I'm-sorry-on-behalf-of-our-entire-family' look, and he waved it off.

"We should be used to this by now." He muttered. Rose did not say anything back; she agreed with him completely.

--

It had been nearly an hour since practice ended, but Scorpius' teeth were still chattering from the February chill. It was late now; the sky had darkened to a rich blue and the stars were just beginning to come out. It looked _almost_ as pretty as her. _Almost._

He dragged his feet all the way down to the dungeons with the Goyle brothers in tow. He could hardly feel his legs. After muttering the password, he moved into the garish green aura of the Slytherin common room and nearly collapsed on the black leather armchair by the cackling fire. The Goyle brothers lugged all the way upstairs to their dormitories. Holden was seated in the armchair across from him, immersed in a book.

"Why don't you ever go to the prefects' common room? You get more peace and quiet there." Holden insisted. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at his friend, but he realized that the darker boy was not looking directly at him. Holden's dark eyes seemed to be looking past him, and Scorpius looked over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. Tatia, who was not standing so far away, immediately whipped her head back towards one of her giggly perky friends, as if she was just caught staring at him the entire time.

"She's always looking at you when you're not paying attention." Holden said flatly as he closed his book and set it on his lap. Scorpius frowned and ruffled the back of his head with his hand, his joints still frozen from outside. He thought he saw the last of Tatia…

"Jealous, are we? I can't blame you; I'm quite irresistable." When Holden did not even crack a grin, Scorpius coughed awkwardly into his fist and continued on, "Guess I'm not completely out of her head yet," He said sheepishly, "but it's not like I _want_ to be. I don't know how to deal with her anymore-I'm completely fresh out of ideas."

"And might I add, the first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up." Holden said, his gaze towards the fireplace. Scorpius' frown deepened.

"What does that have to do with anything?" He asked slowly, and leaned forward a little. Holden rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You're really bad with dates, aren't you?" He muttered exasperatingly, and Scorpius' grey eyes narrowed, "It's a couple Saturdays from now- _Valentine's Day."_

"WHAT?!"

Everybody in the common room turned to stare at the Slytherin Quidditch captain, who was now on the edge of his seat with his fingers digging into the armrests. His eyes, which flickered with the reflection of the fire, were as wide as Bludgers and they were staring straight into Holden's bored, half-open ones.

"Yep, thought you wouldn't know." Holden leaned back and opened his book. Scorpius cursed under his breath and his hand jumped to his hair. In the distance Tatia was giggling. It grated against his veins.

"So you're saying-"

"-she probably wants you to ask her. Why else would she be staring at you when you're not looking?" Holden interrupted, though his eyes were still fixed on his book, "I guess she's trying to take on a different approach, as in she isn't going to be so _upfront_ about it this time. She's letting you take the lead. She's _expecting_ you to do it."

Great, this was just great. Scorpius flattened his back against the chair, both of his hands in his hair this time. He groaned in defeat.

"Hasn't she thought of the possibility that I-oh, I don't know-_don't want to ask her to bloody Hogsmeade?" _Scorpius' voice thinned to a whisper just in case Tatia was eavesdropping, and he had a very strong feeling that she was. Holden shrugged his shoulders and flipped to a new page. He still did not look up from his book; Scorpius assumed it was a very interesting story, but it was not like he cared. He hated reading.

_Rose likes to read, _his conscience added, and he mentally slapped himself.

"She's part Veela, Malfoy," Holden replied casually, "she's used to getting what she wants, and if she doesn't get it right away she's bound to get her hands on it somehow."

"Thanks for the support, mate." Scorpius grumbled, and Holden waved the sarcasm off with a hand. The room was now suspiciously quiet; both of the boys turned to look behind Scorpius' armchair. Tatia was gone. Knowing that it was safe to go, Scorpius stretched and rose from his seat.

"Well, I best be off for the night then. See you later." He muttered before turning to head for the stairs.

"Say, didn't the prefects' common room used to have dormitories for the Head Boy and Girl? Why aren't you staying there instead?" Holden inquired, looking up from his book to stare at his friend. Scorpius gave him a grim smirk.

"Well, they used to have dormitories until some years back when McGonagall found out that the Head Boy and Girl haven't been exactly sleeping in their separate dormitories...actually I don't think they've been _sleeping_ at all."

The dark boy's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then returned to their usual half-open state. He cleared his throat a little before continuing.

"So why aren't you going to ask her, Malfoy? Is it because you _really_ don't want to go with her, or is it because of something-or some_one_ I should say-else?"

Holden's voice caught Scorpius dead in his steps. He did not bother to turn around to face his reading friend, for he feared he would see the very obvious pink flush painted on his pallid cheeks. Instead he resumed his walk and shuffled all the way to his dormitory, trying his hardest to drown out Holden's snickering from behind.

--

"Al, that's not how you spell Chimaera-"

"Really? Maybe these stupid glasses are playing tricks on my eyes. Perhaps I should take them off-"

"Very funny."

It was study time in the library and Albus needed help (as usual) on his Care of Magical Creatures essay. Rose, who had finished hers days ago, had nothing better to do and decided to edit Albus' rough draft. The parchment was stained with Rose's red inked corrections: there were strict, quick red lines that tore straight through Albus' incorrectly spelled or unnecessary words, and there were big circles, squiggly lines, and little notes of advice scrawled everywhere.

"I don't think I can see the colour of the parchment anymore." Albus said miserably as Rose handed him his essay. He held the scroll away at arms' length, as if looking at it from a distance would improve its image. Rose giggled and corked her ink bottle.

"Well with all of those corrections hopefully you'll be able to write a better final draft." She said. She was too busy laughing at Albus' sombre expression to hear footsteps coming towards her.

"Rather colourful piece of work you have there, Al." Damien chuckled as he took a seat in between the two Gryffindors, "How were your holidays?"

"They were pretty good," Rose grinned, recalling the eventful two weeks with her large family, "spent a lot of time with the relatives. How about you?"

"Pretty much the same thing, without magic of course." Damien smiled back; he raised an eyebrow at Albus, who was now turning his essay upside down in his hands, "You've got glasses, Potter? No wonder you've been looking smarter these days."

Albus grumbled and pushed his glasses up with his index finger, but did not bother to say anything coherent. Rose placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh.

"He's very sensitive about it since his dad needs them too. He deliberately picked a pair that looked nothing like his dad's so he wouldn't have to look _exactly_ like him." She said softly, and Damien nodded in understanding.

"Good for him. Must be hard to always be compared with your parents. I wouldn't know." He admitted. Rose waved it off dismissively.

"Yeah, it gets quite annoying at times, but after having it done to you your entire life you kinda get used to it." She replied lightly. Damien rested his elbows on the table, his eyes glazing over with that faraway look. Rose frowned; he was thinking of something.

"Um, y'know…" Damien started hesitantly; it was odd to have him sound so uncertain of himself. Rose cocked her head to the side and looked at him in confusion.

"What is it?" She asked quietly. His dark brown eyes slid onto her blue ones.

"In two weeks th-"

"Weasley." A smooth, deep voice popped up from behind, startling her. The voice sounded almost identical to Damien's, except that it sounded unimpressed. Bored.

After making the connection, her heart began to beat sporadically as she spun around in her seat to look up at Scorpius Malfoy, who was dressed in his usual disheveled style of uniform. She could hear Damien and Albus muttering angrily behind her.

"H-hello, Scorpius. What brings you here?" She asked breathily; she melted when he threw her his usual smirk.

"I need to talk to you." He replied emotionlessly, always to the point. She nodded and rose from her seat; she gave Damien and Albus an apologetic look before moving to follow Scorpius across the library, off into a secluded part where nobody could see them. They were standing in between towering bookshelves, crammed with books that had been published decades before they were born.

"Why did you lead me all the way out here? Surely it can't be that important." Rose said slowly. He chuckled, a low bass rumble at the back of his throat. It sounded so perfect to her. The dim light hanging above them whitened his hair and cast dark shadows against his sharp features. _He_ looked so perfect to her.

And he was not supposed to be.

"It isn't," He admitted, and his hand moved to the back of his head, "but I think it would be best if I tol-_asked_ you without anybody hearing."

Rose raised an eyebrow. What could he ask, and why bother asking if it was not so important anyway? Feeling rather impatient, she leaned on one leg and crossed her arms, looking very much like her mother.

"Well, I'm waiting then. Ask away." She said haughtily, her foot tapping against the floor. Scorpius cringed at her annoyance. She really did not mean to sound so bossy, but some things just could not be helped.

"Okay, well in a couple of weeks there's gonna be the first Hogsmeade weekend of the new year," He was speaking so quickly she almost did not understand him, "and I don't know if you know but this just so happens to be on Valentine's Day, and I was wonderingifyouwantedtocomewithme."

Giggling at his nervousness, which was so out of character for him, Rose leaned in a little closer and cupped a hand to her ear, though she knew perfectly well what he just asked her.

"Come again? I don't think I heard the last part properly." She said with a mischievous grin that would have made her Uncle George proud; Scorpius gulped, the Adam's Apple in his throat bobbing up and down, and repeated his last words slowly and coherently.

"I. Was. Wondering. If. You. Wanted. To. Come. With. Me." He emphasized each word with a short pause at the end. Rose nearly collapsed from excitement.

Scorpius Malfoy was asking her out to a Valentine's Hogsmeade weekend, and he did not even bother to ask Tatia Schultz! Oh, this _definitely_ had to mean something.

_I thought you said this whole liking thing was wrong._

Oh Merlin, it did not matter now. He just asked her to bloody Hogsmeade! On _Valentine's Day! _She had all the time in the world to worry about what was right and what was wrong later.

"Of course I'll go with you." She said as calmly as she could and flashed him a smile. The corners of his mouth twitched a little in a very quick grin and his shoulders slumped a little, relaxed.

"Oh, good then." His eyes averted hers for a moment, then they came back, "I'll see you there, I suppose."

And just like that, he brushed past her as if they were just passing by on their way to class. Rose leaned back towards one of the bookshelves, her chest heaving in a dreamy sigh and her gaze cast upwards. She felt stupid and ridiculously giddy; several tingling sensations were coursing up and down her spine and her fingertips felt a little numb. As odd and absolutely wrong as it was to be feeling this way, she could not help but admit, even just the tiniest bit, that she enjoyed it. Out of nowhere she burst into a fit of giggles and she covered her mouth with a hand, not willing to risk getting thrown out of the library or at least getting a good scolding from Madam Pince.

Was this how Elizabeth Bennet felt when she finally realized her true feelings for Mr. Darcy? Was this how her mother felt when she figured out her long-time affections for her father?

No, it could not. Though Mr. Darcy seemed like the wrong person in the beginning, he was actually a gentleman the entire time-it was Elizabeth's fault for not seeing this, and her mother...well, it was pretty much the same ordeal.

_You thought Scorpius was a rotten, good-for-nothing toerag the moment you met him, and now, nearly seven years later, you're thinking exactly the opposite. How different would you be from Elizabeth and your mother?_

There was only one difference between her, Elizabeth Bennet, and Hermione Granger-Weasley: there really was no indication in the story that Elizabeth was not _allowed_ to fall in love with Mr. Darcy; it was just her stubbornness and pride that put her affections on hold. Hermione was not so different.

They had no restrictions, no rules saying that they were not _allowed_ to fall in love with them; they had the freedom to feel whatever they wanted.

Rose sighed again and sunk to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She was not _allowed_ to feel this way. She can't.

_It's kind of late to be thinking such things, don't you think? You just accepted his invitation to that Valentine Hogsmeade weekend._

Going to Hogsmeade with him did not necessarily have to be romantic. Maybe she could just make it a 'friendly outing'.

_Oh, but what's the fun in that?_

No. She can't. All good things had to come to an end, and this would undoubtedly end in some kind of disaster if they were to propel forward as they were now.

Think of the family. Think of _both_ of their families.

_I can't be feeling this way, _she thought miserably as she buried her face in her hands. Her eyes began to sting and she clamped them shut.

_But you can't help it._

_And that's what hurts the most._

She did not bother to argue this time, because she agreed with it completely.


	19. Ouch

**Ouch**

It was the Friday before the big Valentine's Day Hogsmeade weekend and it seemed that the spirit of the holiday had come a day early. Couples were spotted literally everywhere, walking to class holding hands, eating lunch together in the Great Hall, and some were even sneaking a snog or two when they were certain there were not any teachers around to scold them. Albus and Lisa and Lily and Lysander had been spending their entire spare period together, running off to do Merlin-knew-what, leaving Rose, the rest of the Weasleys, Damien, Thomas and Lorcan at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"I don't understand how Albus doesn't disapprove of them," Thomas muttered as he watched Lily and Lysander jogging out the large double doors, elbows linked together, "he's two years too old."

"It's not that big of a gap," Dominique said nonchalantly, her light French accent sounding particularly prominent today for some reason, "Paris has worse."

"Dom's right, and there are also those young pretty ladies who marry men twice their age just for their money." Roxanne added. Thomas rolled his eyes and began to pick at his food.

"Or maybe he's never really thought about it, now that he's with Lisa." Mandy giggled.

"Oh, don't tease him," Jane said, looking up from her copy of _Hogwarts, A History,_ "as long as the both of them are happy I suppose."

Rose, however, had not been paying attention to the conversation. She was sitting with her back slightly hunched over, her chin resting in her palm and her elbow propped up on the table, her lunch untouched. Her eyes were glazed over with a faraway look, as if she was daydreaming. Her mouth was upturned in a slight smile, and every once in awhile she would heave a dreamy, satisfied sigh. Damien was sitting directly in front of her with an eyebrow raised. He leaned forward and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Er, Rose?" He tried snapping his fingers, "Rose, are you in there at all?"

The sharp sound of snapping brought life to Rose's vacant expression; she gasped and focused her gaze on her Ravenclaw friend.

"Oh-wha-" She shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles, "-I'm so sorry, I must've drifted off."

Damien smiled and shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. He looked over his shoulder for a moment to stare in the direction Rose was just a few moments earlier. Not surprisingly his eyes led him straight towards the Slytherin table all the way across the Great Hall, where a timid looking Scorpius Malfoy was nibbling on his sandwich. The Ravenclaw rolled his eyes and turned around to face his friend, but his smile was still intact. He chose not to say anything, but Rose read his expression and her cheeks heated up instantly. For some reason her mind reeled back to the day Scorpius asked her to Hogsmeade.

He interrupted Damien when he was just about to ask her something.

_"In two weeks th-"_

In two weeks, back then, was the Hogsmeade weekend Scorpius asked her out to. It made complete sense now. Damien was going to ask her, but Scorpius butted in just in the nick of time. A wave of guilt spread over Rose and her ocean blue gaze fell to her lap.

"Damien, I-it's not what you think-" She spluttered in a low voice so that her relatives would not hear, but Damien raised his hands and shook his head again.

"I know, Rose, I know. You don't have to hide anything." He said calmly. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table; his chocolate brown eyes were staring directly into her dark blue ones, but they did not seem as intimidating as Scorpius'. They had a more friendly aura to them, more _inviting._

"I know what happened that day," He started slowly, and paused a minute to wait for her reaction. She gulped and nodded for him to go on, "and I'll admit that at first I was jealous, maybe even a little angry, but what's passed has passed and as your friend I am obligated to stick by you and whatever you choose to do."

She gaped at him, her eyes as wide as Quaffles. Why did she have to have a crush on the insensitive, sarcastic Slytherin? _Why?_

_Because doing what's wrong is way more tempting than doing what's right._

"Damien…" She croaked, and a painful lump began to form at the back of her throat. Her eyes had that familiar stinging sensation and she clamped them shut to prevent any tears that threatened to fall. She heard Damien wince and she felt his warm hand on top of hers.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad," He said softly before withdrawing his hand, "but I just want you to know that I have a great deal of respect for you, Rose, and though I don't completely agree with what you're doing-well what you're _going _to do, really-I support you." He leaned back and smiled. She opened her eyes to see his content expression, and it made her feel a _little_ bit better about herself.

Damien was a good friend. A _very_ good friend. She had no idea how she managed to find people like him. Dumb luck, she supposed. She could not think of anything to say so she just smiled back.

"I made him promise me something, you know." Damien said after a moment's silence, and that made her gape at him again.

"W-what? When?" She whispered, her eyes darting to her left to make sure nobody else was listening. Damien took her precautioned expression and leaned in once again so only she could hear him.

"That day he woke up from that Quidditch accident, and you left the hospital wing, I made him promise me something." He leaned in a little closer, "I made him promise me that he won't hurt you, and I added that if anything was to happen anyway I would hunt him down personally."

Maybe that was why Scorpius has not been acting like the toerag she was so accustomed to seeing, but then again she had a feeling his reasons ran much deeper than a forced promise.

"Oh Damien, you're so sweet. I really appreciate you looking out for me and everything. I'm sorry things didn't...turn out the way you wanted it to." Her face fell, but Damien still smiled.

"Ah well, life's all about dealing with the complete opposite of what you've always wanted. I'll manage, and it's not like we're not good friends, right? Our friendship is most important."

"Hey, spare's over. Time to head to class." Hugo's called over to them, and Rose and Damien stood up, hoisting their bags over their shoulders. Damien turned around to leave, but Rose dashed over to him and shook him by the shoulder a little. He turned around again to face her, and he saw that she was smiling.

"Thank you." She whispered before walking away to class.

--

_This is it. You're done for. You're _both _done for. What are you going to say to everybody? Your parents? _Her _parents?_

_When the bloody hell am I ever going to talk to her parents?_

_Just thinking ahead, mate._

He had to be insane by now. He was bloody answering back to himself.

_You've _always _been answering back to yourself, you twat! Don't deny it!_

_Shut up, shut up, shut uuup._

He had made his way to the courtyard, where all of the students eligible to visit Hogsmeade gathered with Argus Filch ("I can't believe he's still alive," Porter sniggered under his breath). He was dressed in black jeans and black shoes; his Slytherin scarf was wrapped around his neck and the ends were neatly tucked inside his black peacoat. He was never one for 'variety' when it came to clothing.

"You look mighty cheerful this afternoon." Rose's voice caught him from behind, and he whirled around to face her. She was wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a brown jacket with her Gryffindor scarf tucked inside. Her bronze hair complemented the gold and scarlet, and her cheeks were flushed from the icy wind. Her blue eyes stood out from the rest of her appearance like they always did. He kept his cool and shoved his hands in his pockets, his trademark smirk sliding onto his face.

"As do you." He said simply, and she giggled. Argus Filch's throaty voice caught everyone's attention, informing them to follow his lead out of the school grounds and down the path towards Hogsmeade. The sun was out and it glared down at the glistening snow, making everything almost painful to look at. Scorpius wished he had sunglasses, but he realized how stupid he would look wearing them in the middle of winter.

The semi-long walk was not as awkward as he expected it to be; it was filled with a lot of small talk, bouncing in and out of topics they both just picked out from the top of their heads.

"My parents enrolled my siblings and I in a Muggle school before we got our Hogwarts letters," She explained to his surprise, "so we had a pretty good grasp on our maths and languages before we came here, but don't get me wrong, we already knew about our magical background-I _am _half Weasley after all. With a family as big as mine, nobody can keep their mouths shut for very long."

They were now in Hogsmeade; Filch was lecturing the group of students, telling them to meet at this spot later on in the afternoon, and other rules Scorpius did not bother to pay attention to since he had heard them so many times before. Rose seemed to be just as inattentive as him, since she was looking around excitedly. Shops were decorated for the occasion, especially Madam Puddifoot's; Scorpius saw the little golden cherubs zooming around the little tea shop from outside one of the windows.

"So," He said nervously, his eyes shifting left to right, "where to?"

"Anywhere _but _Madam Puddifoot's!" She exclaimed, and he sighed in relief, "I don't want to be showered with pink confetti. D'you mind warming up at the Three Broomsticks for now? I know a lot of people will be there, but there really isn't anywhere else we can go...for now."

He wondered what she meant when she hesitantly added the 'for now', but he shrugged it off and led the way. It was relieving to feel warm air again as he pushed the door to the Three Broomsticks open, at least. Since they had just arrived there were not a lot of students yet, plus it was Valentine's Day so he expected Madam Puddifoot's to be the place for students to go instead of here. Not willing to take a risk though, he secured a table in a secluded looking corner. As they took their seats, he ordered two mugs of hot butterbeer. Their drinks came very quickly, and they took a few minutes to take their first sips. The warming effect of the drink helped defrost the both of them.

"Damien told me about the promise he made you keep." She blurted out as she gently placed her steaming mug on the wooden table. Scorpius almost choked on his butterbeer; he coughed awkwardly into his fist.

"Er, he did?" He asked, his voice breaking at the end. Rose giggled; he felt like an idiot.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Scorpius. I thought it was very sweet. You didn't have to give in, you know. I thought you would've resisted, knowing you, but you caught me by surprise this time," She hesitated for a moment before adding in a lower voice, "but then again you've been surprising me a lot lately."

More students were coming into the pub now; Scorpius could tell because it was starting to get louder. He leaned in closer, pressing his arms on the edge of the table. His eyes ran all over her face, examining her features like he always did. He noticed her shrinking under his gaze.

"How?" He asked in the calmest voice he had ever heard himself speak. She was faltering now; her eyes were shifting from left to right and she was clearly hesitating.

"Uh, well-" Her voice was unnaturally high, a usual trait for her whenever she was nervous, "Hey, who would ever guess that we'd be having butterbeer together at the Three Broomsticks? We've come a long way since we first met."

Dissatisfied at the random change of subject, he leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow, but decided to follow along anyway.

"Do you even remember how we first met?" He asked skeptically, and she pretended to look offended.

"Of course I do, how could I forget?" She exclaimed, her cheeks flushed pink despite the fact that it was pretty warm inside the Three Broomsticks, "You didn't give a very good impression, that's one thing I'm sure about…"

--

_"Wow, this is huge! It's way bigger than my book described it!" An eleven year old Rose cried, her head craned back to look at the towering castle properly. Albus, who was standing nervously beside her, gulped._

_"I hope we don't get lost on our first day. That would be pretty embarrassing." He mumbled. Rose giggled and took hold of her cousin's arm, dragging him inside the castle to join the rest of the first years._

_"Oh, don't be silly. We haven't even gotten to our Sorting yet!" When Rose mentioned the Sorting, Albus turned a dangerous shade of green._

_"Don't listen to James. I'm sure you won't get into Slytherin - both of your parents are Gryffindors, shouldn't that help? And your dad did say that the Sorting Hat takes your choice into consideration." Rose reassured, rubbing her cousin's shoulder comfortingly. Albus looked grim still, but not as much as before. He managed a weak smile before letting Rose drag him inside._

_"Gather 'round, first years!" Professor Longbottom was standing before the large double doors to the Great Hall, surrounded by first years. Rose and Albus managed to push their way to the front._

_"Hullo, Uncle Neville." Rose whispered, waving up at him. Professor Longbottom gave the bronze haired girl a wink._

_"Get into a single line; you will walk straight through the Great Hall to meet Professor McGonagall, who is also the headmaster of this school. You will be sorted into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw, and you will sit at your designated table. C'mon now, single file!"_

_When Professor Longbottom mentioned Gryffindor, Rose heard sniggering from behind. She whipped her head around to see who it was, and her sky blue eyes widened. Not too far away from her was that strange blond boy her parents were bickering over earlier._

_"Best not to get friendly with him, Rosie." Albus hissed in her ear, "You know better than to talk with a Malfoy."_

_Rose turned to face the front once more, but she was too late._

_"Is that Albus Potter?" A drawling voice crept up from behind, and she knew it was him despite the fact that she had never heard him speak before. In an instant the blond boy was by Albus' side, sneering at him. His sleek head turned towards her and he eyed her up and down. She noticed that his eyes were a cold, menacing grey._

_"And you, you must be Rose. Rose Weasley." He gave her a malevolent, though lopsided grin, "Don't tell me you _both_ want to get into Gryffindor. Potter, your middle name's _Severus_ for a reason. Even your dad's giving you hints." Nearby, a few other boys broke out into giggles._

_Albus gulped and Rose stepped over to his side._

_"Why on earth would Uncle Harry want his son to join a house that represents cheaters and liars? Surely he would want his son to do better, unlike some people."_

_Scorpius bared his teeth in an angry simper, but he quickly regained his cool and stuck his hands in his pockets._

_"Hmph. Relying on a _girl_ for protection, I see." He smirked and his eyes glinted ominously under the light of the room, "Scorpius Malfoy. I'll see you around, Potter." He paused for a minute to give an extra intensified glare in Rose's direction, "Weasley."_

_He spat out her name like it was a spoiled bit of food before disappearing into the crowd of frightened first years. Rose shook her head and brushed her bushy hair over her shoulder. No wonder her dad did not speak of him very highly._

_"Alright, that's your cue. Everyone be quiet now!" Professor Longbottom's voice silenced everyone, and the doors to the Great Hall creaked open very slowly…_

_--_

"That brought back very pleasant memories." Scorpius muttered sarcastically, and Rose giggled in response.

"Oh, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It wasn't your fault - at least I don't think it was."

He took another sip from his mug. Rose was leaning forward now, her arms folded on the edge of the table.

"We were both basing our impressions on whatever our parents said. We didn't really take the chance to get to know each other to give a real honest opinion." She explained simply, her voice taking on that business-like tone of her mother. He shrugged it off nonchalantly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah...I guess…" He mumbled distractedly, and went on to stare out the window. Suddenly a strong pair of hands wrapped themselves around his forearm, and he came to the realization that Rose was holding onto him for dear life.

"What the blo-" One of her hands moved to his mouth. She looked like she was going to have a heart attack.

_"Shh!" _She hissed, and pushed his head under the table. Scorpius glared up at her, but she kept her hand pressed down on his head so he was unable to get up. After a few tense minutes her hand moved to his collar and she pulled him back up again. She had her coat on.

"We have to get out of here." She said in a low voice. Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"Wha-why-"

"Albus and Lisa Longbottom are here, and I think I just saw Tatia-"

She did not have to say anymore. He grabbed his jacket and followed her out of the Three Broomsticks, moving slowly and trying their hardest to blend in with the crowd so they would not get noticed, especially when Tatia was around.The moment they felt the cold winter air brush against their cheeks they knew they were safe.

Or maybe they thought wrong.

"Oh for Merlin's sake-" Rose cried out in frustration as she spotted Hugo and Lorcan walking in their direction, "C'mon-"

She grabbed Scorpius' sleeve and dragged him further into Hogsmeade, only to nearly bump into Lysander and Lily. They managed to avoid them by turning their backs on them at just the right time, then moving out towards another street.

"They're going out?" Scorpius asked, bewildered. He was jerked sharply to the side again, and he glared at her.

"Sorry, I thought I saw Randy and Mandy." She huffed, exhausted from all that running.

"If your family didn't take up half the school's population we wouldn't be running like this." He muttered, looking around them. They were sandwiched in a narrow alleyway. The buildings were so close together there was not enough room for the sun to shine through, so everything was cast in shadow. Scorpius was also aware of how close he was to her; their noses were inches apart, and there was not enough room to back away.She seemed to be aware of it too, since she was trying to avoid his gaze, and by the way her cheeks and the tips of her ears were glowing red. He was certain it was not from the cold.

"Um, I think the coast is clear now." She said, her voice barely audible. He craned his head to see; the street was practically empty, to his surprise.

"Right then. I'll go first." He turned to face her again, but he froze. Something about her made him stay in his place.

He realized that he had never been this close to her before. He could count the faint group of freckles on the bridge of her nose. He was close enough to fully appreciate how beautiful her eyes looked. Even in the dark it was obvious that they were the darkest shade of blue he had ever seen in his entire life. They stared up at him, telling him something that she dared not to speak. Her wavy bronze hair framed her thin face, curling slightly at the ends and flowing gracefully over her shoulders. Her small mouth was slightly parted, as if she was going to say something.

"I…" She started, but he shook his head. He leaned in and closed his eyes, waiting for something to happen.

It all happened so quickly.

She was warm against him, he could feel something radiating off of her, but he was not sure what it was. It was not like he had enough to figure it out anyway, because a second later she pulled away, her eyes glistening and her bottom lip trembling.

And then she was gone.

It felt colder for some reason.

--

_A/N: I felt like being mean. Sorry._

_But keep your chins up._


	20. Something

_A/N: Jeez, I thought I said to keep your chins up._

* * *

**Something**

Rose had tried her best to avoid Scorpius all week, but being Head Girl and Boy, it was nearly impossible. Head duties kept them together, much to her dismay. Patrolling was awkward, the silence louder than anyone would have imagined. Rose was kind of glad they patrolled different areas of the castle on their own. She knew from his expression and his body language that he wanted to speak to her about what happened, but he was being polite about it and did not bother to bring it up. She could tell it was building up though; she could almost sense the frustration when he was nearby.

As usual the rest of her family tried prying in on her, trying to get her to talk, but it was futile. Albus, the most concerned family member, was a little more persistent and went on to keep bothering her about it when everyone else gave up and decided to leave her alone. She did not understand how they knew something was wrong; she had been trying her hardest to hide it.

It was a cold, bitter Thursday afternoon and Rose was spending it in the library. She had been spending a lot of time in there lately. With all of the towering bookshelves serving as a sort of confusing maze, it was hard to find her. She picked a different spot to sit in every time she came in so nobody would expect her to be at a certain place. With the passing days, the visits became less frequent - except for Albus of course, who always managed to find her. She figured it was from that weird map James gave him a couple years back.

Stupid James.

"Rose?"

She had her nose practically buried into her Arithmancy book when she heard her name; instead of jumping out of her seat in shock like she usually did she chose to ignore the voice.

"I know you haven't been...in the mood lately, and I can take a guess why." The voice hardened at the end of the sentence, and Damien's face flashed across her vision. She turned to see the Ravenclaw boy standing not too far away, his hands in his pockets and his eyes as dark as coal. His neatly pomaded hair glistened under the dim lamplight that dangled over his head. His face was stony, emotionless, too harsh for him.

"He's done something to you, hasn't he?" He said gruffly after she did not answer him. He did not tear his eyes away from her, and he was not blinking either. He was up to par with Scorpius on the deadly glares now. She shrunk under his glower and pretended to continue reading.

"Rose, please. Tell me what happened. I won't tell Albus or anybody else. I want to know what's going on." Damien's voice softened at the slightest. She heard him shuffle over to the seat beside her.

"Nothing happened." She decided to speak; her voice sounded weaker than she intended it to be. Out of the corner of her eye Damien shook his head.

"If nothing happened you wouldn't be distancing yourself from everybody. What did he-"

"He didn't do anything." She interjected sharply, but much to her dismay Damien rose from his seat so suddenly he almost knocked the chair over. He probably took her the wrong way - well, it was true that what happened on Saturday was bothering her, but...no. He could not possibly understand the full story if she told him. It was too complicated for even her to comprehend.

"That sick git, when I get my-" Rose grabbed onto Damien's sleeve and peered up at him. It was the first time seeing him since Saturday; despite his neat hair and pressed uniform he looked rather restless.

"Don't do anything to him, please." She said, her voice barely louder than a whisper, "I'm being honest. He didn't do anything wrong."

Heaving a sigh, Damien threw his hands up in defeat and leaned against the bookshelf.

"Then what exactly _is _bothering you, then? Isn't it a little suspicious that you've only started to act distant _after_ Valentines? It's not hard to put two and two together, Rose." He cried exasperatingly. Rose bit her bottom lip and tried to concentrate on her textbook.

_Well, answer his question. What's bothering you?_

In all honesty, it was a hard question to answer at the moment.

_Let's think about what happened then._

No. Some things were better left forgotten.

_You barely even ki-_

No, NO! She shook her head and flipped a page of her textbook, trying to concentrate on the text, but it was no use. Her mind reeled back to that Saturday, replaying that one frame in her mind over and over again.

Though it only happened for a fraction of a second, it kind of was a kiss. Their lips touched-

_More like brushed. Brushing does not count._

It was _something_ at least. She did not know what it was exactly, but it was _something._ It was enough to...ignite something on the inside. It was like a spark: quick, bright and warm, and it disappeared the millisecond after it flashed into existence.

It was _something._

_So, you're saying you _liked_ it then, even if it really wasn't a kiss, and it lasted less than a second. What the bloody hell is wrong then?_

It was _wrong._ It was not supposed to be like this.

_Be like what?_

"Rose?" Damien asked, his voice much quieter than it had been in the whole few minutes he had been with her. She almost forgot about him. She looked up to face him, her eyes stinging.

"I...I don't know." She mumbled pathetically, and lowered her head. Frowning, Damien rushed over to her side and knelt in front of her. Rose sniffled and swiped at her eyes.

"It's alright." He murmured, patting her knee, but she shook her head violently and clutched her head with one hand.

"No, no Damien, it's not alright!" She hissed, remembering to keep her voice low in case Madam Pince was nearby, "It isn't supposed to be like this, it's not supposed to be this way-I'm not supposed to be feeling like this-"

"There are just some things that can't be helped, Rose," Damien explained calmly, "and out of all people you should know that."

"But why does it have to happen to _me? _To _us?_ Out of all things, out of all people, it just has to happen to me! _And him!" _More tears spilled out of her azure depths; Damien brandished his wand and muttered a quick charm. A white hankie sprouted out from the tip of his wand. He handed it over to her and she gave him a watery 'thank you' as she dabbed her eyes with it.

"I don't know about you, Rose, but I think this _was _supposed to happen, whether you like it or not." He said in the same placid tone he used before. She did not understand how he did not burst out into a mad fit of anger or jealousy yet. He was such a good friend. Why did things have to be so complicated between her and Scorpius Malfoy? At the moment she rather preferred having a problem with Damien. At least her parents would have approved of him.

"But everything happens for a reason, Damien. I can't think of a logical enough reason for this-"

"I don't think _everything_ has a logical meaning behind it, Rose." He cut in, but in his own polite fashion, "Maybe some things just...mean to happen, y'know? Like, they're there just because they are. Problems are problems just for the sake of being problematic. People fall in love _with_ love. Two complete opposites find themselves attracted to each other. These things just happen because they do."

Rose sniffled and toyed with the hankie absentmindedly. Damien had to be wrong. Things did not just conjure out of nowhere - even in the wizarding world there was always some kind of explanation behind a spell. How could there _not_ be a reason behind her feelings for...you know.

"I dunno, that's just my take on things I suppose. You have your own opinion and I have mine." He said before standing up. His hands were in his pockets again, "But Rose, I just want you to know that you don't have to search for an answer to everything. Maybe you're just thinking too hard."

_Maybe you're just thinking too hard._ Damien's last words reverberated inside her skull as she waved wordlessly to him, watching him until he turned a corner, disappearing completely. She swerved around in her chair until she was facing her textbook but she did not feel like reading anymore. She suddenly felt tired, but at the same time she did not want to go to bed. It was too early anyway; it was not even time for dinner yet. She came to the conclusion that she was just mentally tired.

Thinking too hard? What did he mean by that? The reasons why it was wrong to be feeling this way were plain and simple:

He was a Malfoy.

She was a Weasley.

Their fathers loathed each other in school, and she had the impression that they still did, kind of, it was just that after years of avoiding each other their disliking for each other had subdued somewhat (or maybe they had just gotten better at hiding it).

Dad _did_ say that Granddad Weasley would never forgive her…_(thinking a little too far ahead now, are we?)_

She knew it would just not work out. It was pretty obvious for everyone to see.

_But despite all of these facts, why are you still feeling this way? Isn't it about time you stepped down and admitted that there's nothing you can do about it? Stop convincing yourself otherwise; it's hard to overrule your heart. Your brain is more accustomed to giving in to these sort of things, but it won't change the way you feel deep inside._

She cursed herself and closed her textbook softly; she would have slammed it just to ease the frustration but she was aware that Madam Pince was stalking around nearby. She shoved the thick book into her bag and flicked a few strands of copper tinted hair over her shoulder.

_I _can_ convince myself otherwise. It's possible. I know it is, _she thought determinedly as she stomped out of the library.

Outside, it began to rain.

--

It was dinnertime in the Great Hall. The large windows lining the vast room showed a nearly pitch-black sky, lidded with heavy clouds and sheet after sheet of rain. Every now and then there was a loud eruption of thunder and even a flash of lightning. It perfectly suited Scorpius' mood.

He was sitting at the edge of the Slytherin table, picking absently at his food. He was too angry to be hungry. Porter and the Goyle brothers tried figuring out what was bothering him but Holden firmly ordered them to leave him be.

_She shouldn't be running like this. She knows she can't escape._

That was partially true; their Head duties prevented her from avoiding him completely. Hope sparked once again when he remembered that it was their turn to patrol tonight - maybe he would finally succeed in getting her to talk.

He rose from his seat, not feeling hungry at all, and stalked out of the Great Hall, well aware of the fact that he was being stared at by a good amount of the school population. He turned a sharp corner, only to collide with something - something _hard._

"Oi! Watch where you're-" That voice sounded familiar. Scorpius staggered to his feet, rubbing his shoulder. Damien Byrne stood in front of him, his jaw slack and his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

In a quick second he found himself pinned against the wall; Damien had his arm pressed against his neck so tightly Scorpius was struggling to breathe.

_"You!" _The Ravenclaw boy hissed, and Scorpius raised an eyebrow, "You did something to Rose, didn't you? You hurt her somehow!"

Scorpius managed to wrench Damien away from him, and he took a few minutes to catch his breath. When he was ready he straightened up and gave Damien one of his trademark pointed stares. This bloke had to be barking mad.

"What are you talking about? I didn't bloody do anything!" He retorted, crossing his arms. Damien rolled his eyes.

"If you didn't do anything, why is she being so distant from everyone?" He asked, and Scorpius hesitated. Damien's eyes narrowed, "You _did_ do something, didn't you?"

Was there a possible way to explain what happened? How could he explain without getting a fist to the face? Damien seemed to be a little overprotective over Rose - even more than her gigantic family.

"I really can't explain, but you just have to take my word for it. Nothing happened - nothing _major." _He ran his long fingers through tangled blond strands. After a short pause, he added in a lower voice, "I was planning to talk to her tonight about it."

"S'about bloody time you decided," Damien spat, "you need to straighten things out. Get her talking; you're the only one who can make her feel better, at this rate."

His words brought a flush to Scorpius' pallid cheeks; the Ravenclaw boy noticed and let out a low chuckle.

"I'll try m'best." Scorpius muttered. Damien clapped him on the back.

"Just remember that if you do _anything-"_

"Spare it, Byrne." Scorpius grumbled, and continued on his way.

--

_Patrol's only a few hours, and it's not like you walk around _together.

_Just get this over with. It's nothing you can't handle._

Rose brushed off her skirt and made her way down the staircase to the lounge of the Gryffindor common room. From the boys' dormitories there was loud, fast music muffled behind the thick wooden door. She assumed it was Randy blasting one of those American punk bands he liked so much.

"Off to patrol, then?" Albus was sitting by the fire with a Transfiguration textbook on his lap. His glasses were lopsided, but he did not seem to notice or even care.

"Y-yeah." Rose replied before quickening her pace. He grabbed her wrist just before she was going to step out of the portrait hole. Damn those Seeker reflexes.

"Rose," He started, but then to her surprise the pressure of his fingers on her wrist lifted and he stood in front of her, arms limp by his sides, "...never mind."

A deep feeling of remorse sunk into her chest. She wanted to tell him so bad, but there were so many consequences, just too many. Plus he would not understand. Nobody would.

"I'm really sorry Al, but you won't understand. You don't know how much I want to tell you what's going on...but at the same time I know I can't. I don't even understand much of it myself."

Albus gave her a weak smile and shook his head slowly, "It's alright, Rosie. But I just want you to know that once you _do_ understand just what exactly is going on, I'm here for you, okay? Don't run away."

Rose leapt into her cousin's arms, squeezing him affectionately. She could not have had better friends.

"I'm sorry for doing this, Al." She whispered. Albus shook his head again.

"Nonsense. Now go, you're gonna be late."

She waved to him before dashing out of the portrait hole. It did not take her very long to reach her destination, which was the lobby in front of the Great Hall. Scorpius was already there, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. His platinum bangs were hanging over his steel cold eyes. Memories of Saturday flashed through Rose's head.

She remembered how close they were, how she was able to smell his rugged, musky scent which seemed so unlike him. His eyes, his silvery eyes, were staring straight into her, reading every thought, every emotion that ran through her head. She recalled the very brief sensation of their lips brushing against one another, and how the feeling shot wave after wave of electricity through her body.

It was wrong, but it was _something._

"Good evening," She greeted him nervously; he barely looked up at her. He gave a small grunt before leaving to start his patrol. She winced at his aloofness, but shook it off and veered off into the opposite direction.

The halls of Hogwarts were wide, cold, and empty at this time of the evening, and it had a sense of loneliness reverberating throughout its stony interior. Rose was so used to shoving her way through the crowd of students during the day, her ears filled with the blah blah blah of everyday conversation and her eyes nearly blinded by uniforms, textbooks, and assignments. Hogwarts felt more like a creepy old castle when its halls were unoccupied.

She ascended the stairs to the next floor and walked down another wide, empty hallway, her eyes glazing over the stone walls and the occasional portrait or two. When she spun on her heel to turn a corner, she nearly dropped her wand.

He was not supposed to be here.

"Y-you're supposed to be in-" She stammered, but even from the other side of the hall his eyes still retained its ability to freeze anything in its line of vision. Scorpius began to move; his long legs managed to take him from all the way down the hall to just a few feet in front of her in mere seconds. His eyes, which were easier to see now, seemed more intense than ever and she felt her knees growing weak. His hair, which looked even more careless than usual, flickered slightly in the dim light. Her breath was caught in her throat.

"Enough. We need to talk." His voice was firm. She gulped and nodded. She was trapped.

"Scorpius, I really don't know how to-"

"Try your best." She felt the flames of frustration licking at her insides - that was the second time he interrupted her in the past five minutes. She sighed and began pacing. His eyes followed her from left to right, right to left.

"I...I don't know if it's advisable for us to be...friends. Anymore." She said slowly, and clamped her eyes shut. She knew what was coming.

_"Friends?_ Are you still trying to convince yourself that the word _friends_ is the best way to describe us right now?" He exclaimed, his eyes flashing. She looked at him questionably; they _were_ friends, right? What was he talking about…?

"Look at me, Rose." He ordered. She opened her eyes slowly and her air passages felt congested again: he looked so _angry._

Without even thinking she took a few steps closer towards him. He began to do the same. There was a tingly feeling rising in her chest as she looked up at his smoky eyes.

He was about to lean in again when she came to her senses at the last minute and took a step back.

"No," She said, but her voice was shaky, "we can't. This is wrong…we can't-"

_"Wrong?_ Give me one good reason why this is wrong!" He hissed, and his eyes flashed again.

"Isn't it obvious, Scorpius? Who's your father? Who's _my_ father? What are our last names?" She screamed back. She felt her eyes stinging and she looked away furiously, "Think of the consequences! It can't work. And don't even _think _about keeping secrets; they'll find out eventually. I know your dad will."

Scorpius threw his hands up in frustration, "What the bloody hell does that matter? Do you think their opinions can change the way _we_ feel? They don't have control over us," He took a step closer and they were inches apart again, "they're already too late anyways."

Her pulse was speeding up and she felt heat rising to her cheeks but the logical side of her kept nagging her to pull away, to resist. She held her fists up to her chest and tried taking another step back but she realized that she was pressed against the wall.

_Think of the consequences. What would happen if…_

If what?

"Give in Rose," His voice was softer now. His spidery fingers curled around her wrists; he was surprisingly warm, "don't think about what will happen later."

His eyes bore holes into her.

This was definitely _something._

"This is wrong," She began to protest again, "we ca-_mmph!"_

Her words were muffled against his lips; her azure stare widened considerably in surprise and she felt her hands on his chest, ready to push him away, but the warm sensation that flushed her face was spreading to the rest of her body now, and she felt too uncomfortable to do anything else.

Everything felt so hazy.

She closed her eyes, giving in to him; her hands found his hair and she clung onto it for dear life, and she let him push her against the wall lightly. His arms were strong and warm around her waist. She did not know how much time had passed the moment they finally pulled away, the both of them gasping for air. Their eyes stayed locked on one another, lingering on each other's thoughts. After a few seconds of silence, they broke out into soft chuckles.

"S'about bloody time." He whispered huskily as he pressed his forehead against hers. Rose giggled and closed her eyes again, basking in the warmth that radiated between them.

A small part of her still thought it was wrong, but what could she do about it? They could deal with the stupid consequences later.

This was definitely _something._


	21. My Eyes, My Eyes!

_A/N: Wanna hear my excuse for updating so late?_

_Midterms._

_Sorry, this is a little short because I've been spending so much time studying for midterms. My last one is next week, so hopefully I'll be able to devote more time into writing a longer chapter!_

_--_

**My Eyes, My Eyes!**

In the weeks that followed, not only did the weather improve, but so did Rose's mood. Albus was relieved at the improvement; she was talking to him again, and he admitted that he even missed how she nagged at him for not finishing his homework on time.

It was April now; the snow was wiped clear off the school grounds, revealing the lush green of springtime. Birds chirped merrily above the students' heads as they made their way to class in the sun-drenched, cloudless blue skies. Flowers of all shapes, sizes and colours bloomed here and there and it was nearly impossible to escape their tantalizing odour. Albus was one of the many students who were thriving with spring fever; he hated the snow, mainly because he was a common target for snowballs.

The black-haired Gryffindor pushed his glasses up with his index finger as he shuffled his way down the crowded stone hall, trying to find his favourite cousin. Rose cheerily greeted him in the common room earlier in the morning, promising that she would meet him here for lunch. He searched the crowd; being a few inches taller than the average height for boys his age he had the advantage of seeing over people's heads. He spotted Rose by the wall, looking around anxiously. He raised an eyebrow as he pushed his way through.

"Hey Rose," He huffed; it took a bit of a workout to shove through the throng of traveling students, "why do you look so flustered?"

Rose's cheeks were nearly as red as her tie, and her bottom lip was quivering slightly. She was fumbling with the edge of her skirt and her eyes were cast to the floor.

"Wha-? Oh, i-it's nothing, I assure you," She immediately looked up at him and grinned, but there was still a hint of nervousness behind her smile, "let's go."

She grabbed his wrist a little too tightly and dragged him further down the hallway to the large double doors of the Great Hall. She finally let go when they sat at their table; Albus absently rubbed his wrist, trying to get the blood to flow back properly. She had been acting odd for the past month or so, and he seemed to be the only one who caught onto her behaviour, unless everyone else also thought they were the only ones who noticed.

"Hey Rose, Albus." Hugo greeted them, his mouth half-stuffed with food. The rest of the family was sitting with him, along with Lisa and Thomas. Rose eagerly reached for the plate of sandwiches and Albus helped himself to some pasta. He listened to the conversations that swirled around him: Hugo, Randy and Thomas were chatting animatedly about the upcoming Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch match this weekend; Jane, Dominique and Mandy were arguing over something homework-related; Rose, Lily and Lisa were talking about the next Hogsmeade weekend…

"I'm going with Lysander, of course," He heard his sister say, and he could not help but cringe. He rarely showed it, but the thought of his younger sister _dating_ really did not compute with him, and he was sure if James was here his reaction would not have been so different.

"Like it or not, Albus is coming with me too. He needs to get around more - he's either in the common room _pretending_ to do his work or he's flying about on the Quidditch pitch!" Lisa exclaimed, and Lily and Rose laughed in unison. Albus groaned and pressed his forehead against the edge of the table, his appetite mysteriously vanishing into thin air. He almost forgot about Hogsmeade.

"All right there, Albus?" He felt a large hand on his back and he instantly recognized it as Hugo's. Albus nodded slowly and sucked in a lungful of air.

"'M fine," He mumbled, "just...just tired. I don't feel that hungry, really."

"Are you going with anyone, Rose?" He heard Lily ask; Rose hesitated and he could almost picture the doubt on her face.

"Um, I might actually pass on Hogsmeade this time. With NEWTs coming up-"

Lisa gasped, "Nonsense! We still have a couple months 'till those!"

Hmm, Rose never backed out on a Hogsmeade weekend before. This aroused Albus' suspicion. He lifted his head up and pretended to pick at his food; he strained his ears so he could hear the girls better.

"I know, I know," Rose continued, "but I have to start studying now...I want to do as well as possible."

"Leave it to Rose to take everything to the next level." Lily teased, and Rose's cheeks flared red again. Lisa laughed and clapped the blushing Gryffindor on the back. Albus raised an eyebrow as he stirred his nearly untouched pasta with his fork. Rose did not sound at all convincing - something was up, and he was intending to find out.

"Oh!" Rose blurted, and she immediately rose from her seat. Albus' brow furrowed as his eyes followed her, "I need to get to the library to finish up some Herbology. I'll see you all later!" She gathered her things and hurried out of the Great Hall. Albus glanced at his watch - they had only been here for ten minutes.

"Er, I think I should go too," Albus fumbled as he stood up awkwardly; his family and friends stared at him, waiting for him to continue, "I forgot about that Herbology assignment...I'm gonna go ask Rose for help."

He spotted Hugo opening his mouth to protest, but he spun his back on him and walked out of the Great Hall as quickly as he could without making it look obvious that he was following his favourite cousin. Once he reached the stairs he slowed his pace down a little bit, trying to kill some time before actually reaching the library so Rose would not be suspicious as well. He took cool, even breaths as he made his way into the library; there was nothing out of place so far. He made sure his steps were soundless as he crept closer towards his and Rose's usual study spot. He turned a corner, ready to confront Rose and her odd behaviour…

Only to discover that she was nowhere to be found.

Albus scratched his head in confusion, but he did not give up. He prowled the aisles, ready to strike if he caught a glimpse of the familiar scarlet-haired Gryffindor doing something she ought not to be doing…

But she did not seem to be anywhere, and that only fed his suspicion.

Was she _lying_ when she said she was going to the library to study Herbology?

He ran his fingers through his hair as he left the library, perplexed over his cousin. It was not like Rose to lie - she was definitely hiding something from him. Frowning, he shook his head and stalked out of the library.

--

"That was close, Scorpius Malfoy - _too _close." Rose's voice was husky against his neck; he had her pushed lightly against a book case at the farthest part of the library. Albus was just a few steps towards them but backed out at the last second, probably giving up on his search.

"Oh come off it, will you? He didn't find us and that's what matters." Scorpius whispered, his breath tickling her cheek. His fingers traced the outline of her jaw and she shivered under his touch.

"Still," She started, but a kiss behind her ear stopped her from continuing.

--

"This is ridiculous," Albus cried exasperatingly as he trudged into the common room later that evening, "she's nowhere to be found! I searched the entire bloody school for her, and it's like she's disappeared out of thin air!"

"You saw her in Herbology though, didn't you?" Lily asked. She was sitting on one of the squashy armchairs by the fireplace. Randy was strumming on his guitar again, and Hugo was playing Lisa in chess. Albus huffed in frustration and flopped down on the armchair opposite of his sister's.

"Not the point," He snapped, "I was looking for her before _and_ after class, and she was gone. Right after Herbology ended she ran out of class like she was late for something else!" He furrowed his brow and pushed his glasses further up his nose. Lily frowned and stared into the fire.

"Come to think of it, she was acting rather odd during lunch…" She trailed off.

"Exactly, it almost seemed like she was trying to hide something, don't you think?" Albus picked up where she left off almost too eagerly, "You know just as well as I do that she isn't that great of a liar."

"Oh, I don't know Al - maybe you're just thinking too hard. Knowing Rose, she probably is trying to study for NEWTs. Maybe she found some secluded corner to isolate herself in so nobody could disturb her studying or something." Lily countered, her eyes still locked onto the fireplace. Albus' eyes were rolling behind his glasses.

"She wouldn't do anything of the sort. She'd at least invite me to study with her." He said indignantly. Lily laughed and shook her head, her flaming hair swinging wildly around her face.

"Sorry, but I think she'd ask Lisa or Damien to study with her - _you_ would probably make the worst study partner in the school." She giggled. Albus rolled his eyes and reached for his bag, which was lying by his feet. He remembered that he had a Transfiguration essay due the next day and it was about time he actually handed in something. Doing work would also distract him from his suspicions too. He grumbled as he searched his bag for his quill - if _Rose_ was around he probably would have this essay finished before midnight…

"Where is it…" He mumbled, digging through scraps of crumpled parchment. He felt Lily staring at him and he looked up.

"Lost something?" She asked casually.

"Quill...I can't find it." He replied pathetically, staring forlornly at his bag to emphasize his point. Lily frowned and scratched her head.

"I'm out of spares, sorry. This is the only one I have on me." She gestured to the quill in her own hand; he noticed that she was doing her own homework, "Do you remember where you last used it?"

He furrowed his brow for a minute, recounting his steps. "I think I was using it in the prefects' common room...I was doing work there." He scrambled out from his seat, careful not to accidentally kick over Hugo and Lisa's chessboard, "I'll go there right now and get it."

"Rose is doing patrol right now, I think. Maybe you can find her on the way there and ask her why she's being so dodgy." Lisa piped up. Albus brightened up at the idea.

"Yeah, maybe I will." He grinned before disappearing into the portrait hole.

--

"Don't you think it's about time we started patrol?" Rose asked, pushing Scorpius away to look at him properly. His smoldering grey eyes bored holes into her and she found it nearly impossible to resist the electricity fizzling between them. She was lying on the couch by the fire in the prefects' common room and he was on top of her, supporting his weight with his palms pressed against the cushions to make things a little easier. They were supposed to start patrol twenty minutes ago, but they got a little...sidetracked.

"What do you think we're keeping watch for anyway?" He snickered as he moved in closer to plant his lips on her neck; she gasped at the contact and he grinned against her skin, "Like there's anything out there that's worthy of taking down the school. Your uncle and your parents dealt with all the bad stuff a long time ago."

"You can never be too careful," Rose muttered. She moved her arms to her sides and stared off into the fire. Scorpius rolled his eyes moved closer so that their stomachs were touching, but he still held his own weight - she felt nothing but their contact. He nuzzled his head affectionately against her neck and she gasped again - he loved it when she did that. He moved up a little so their lips would be leveled with each other, but she was still looking away.

"Scorpius, we really should get started on p-" His fingers brushed under her chin and gently turned her head so that she was facing him, and he brought his face to hers in an aggressive kiss. Rose's eyes were wide open in surprise, but it only took her a few seconds to give in to the moment. She sighed against his mouth and let her fingers wander from his shirt collar to his tangled platinum tendrils of hair. He grunted, a low rumbling at the back of his throat and slid one arm around her waist to pull her up to him. His other hand, still pressed against the seat cushions of the couch, was the only thing that supported him now.

Rose moaned again and broke free from the kiss, gasping again as she felt his lips brush against her jawline. He moved downwards, trailing hot kisses towards the sensitive spot behind her ear, down her neck and stopping at her collarbone. Her fists, gripping handfuls of his hair, tightened and her back arched at the slightest. The fire burning inside of them grew, the flames licking at their insides.

Suddenly, Rose's eyes popped open and she pulled away from him, flopping back on the couch.

"Scorpius," She squeaked, her voice a little higher than usual. He stopped and he stared at her in concern. She read his expression and shook her head, "I'm fine...but I was just wondering about...what happened earlier."

He raised an elegant eyebrow and she unconsciously reached to graze it with her fingers.

"Potter." He answered with no emotion. She frowned in response - she hated it when he made himself hard to read. She nodded slowly, half-hoping his reaction would change somewhat, but his face remained stony. She sighed and decided to continue.

"Well, yes…I already said that it was a close call, but knowing Albus, that won't be the last time we'll see him snooping around." She explained, and Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"D'you really think I'd make us easy to find? I'm smarter than you think." He muttered, and she laughed and pressed a hand to his cheek.

"I know you are, but ugh...it makes me feel horrible that I'm keeping things from him. I _never_ keep things from Al." She sighed again and her eyes returned to the fireplace. He moved closer to her, his face fitting into the crook of her neck. He breathed in her scent; his hot breath against her skin sent tiny little shocks up and down her spine and she found it difficult to move.

"S'not like you can do much to help though, is there?" He whispered, and she managed to shake her head. He looked up at her, taking in the confusion in her navy depths, and closed the distance between them with another kiss. As expected, she gave in, closing her eyes. One hand moved to his hair while the other was pressed against his chest. The inferno inside the both of them raged on, intensifying with every touch.

There was the sound of a door being forced open, and Scorpius froze, his face still pressed to Rose's neck. Her eyes, as wide as the full moon outside, were staring in shock at their intruder.

Albus stood at the doorway, his unkempt hair standing on end and his brilliant green eyes difficult to see due to the glare on his glasses from the fireplace, but judging by the way his mouth was opened in a perfect 'o' he was shocked from what he just walked into.

"Bloody hell…" Was all he managed to splutter, and he took a shaky step backward. Scorpius cursed under his breath and rolled off of Rose, flopping on the end of the couch. Rose's cheeks were flaming red as she sat up to sit beside Scorpius; her mind was racing, trying to come up with a proper explanation, but she was totally speechless.

"S-so...so this is what you've been keeping from us...this is why you've been so bloody cheerful lately-" Albus stuttered, and he took another step back. He was halfway through the door now.

"Potter…" Scorpius growled, but Rose glared at him and he said no more. She turned towards her cousin, her expression now more sympathetic.

"Al, you know I wouldn't keep anything from you...but obviously this was something that I couldn't really tell anybody about-"

"You're damn right it's something you can't tell anyone about!" Albus' voice was stronger now; he marched right up to the couch. The glare disappeared from his glasses and Rose saw that his emerald eyes were glaring daggers at her, "I should've known something like this would've happened between you two, with this stupid Head stuff and the both of you being the smartest in school and Uncle Ron goading on about the Malfoys…"

"Will you cut it out, Potter? You're going to wake up the whole school." Scorpius hissed, "It's not like we planned any of this. It just...happened, that's all."

Albus laughed darkly and threw his hands up, "Right, right - like I'm supposed to believe that _fate_ or something just brought you together out of nowhere. Ironic, don't you think? Two completely different people with families who practically despise each other are caught snogging in the prefects' common room! This would make a perfect TV drama-"

"Albus, seriously, will you stop it?" Rose cut in; Scorpius furrowed his brow and muttered "TV?" in confusion as she spoke, "This is why I opted not to tell anybody about this in the first place; I knew you were going to be against it from the very start."

Her eyes wandered to her shoes and the corners of her mouth tugged downwards in a crestfallen frown. Albus' insides ached at the sight of his cousin; he hated it when he made her sad. Scorpius, on the other hand, looked like he was planning his murder.

"I guess you're right, Rosie. I just don't understand how this all works out…" He mumbled, "after all these years of him being such an arse to you…"

"People change." Scorpius grunted, and Albus rolled his eyes.

"I suppose that's _one_ reason." He grinned mischievously, and Scorpius turned away from him so he would not see him blush. Rose giggled.

"Well I guess it's sort of like how the opposite of what you wish for is what ends up coming true, right? I didn't think this would happen when I first came to Hogwarts, and I doubt Scorpius did either, and you're right about having all these things lead up to where we are now, with us being constantly paired together for assignments and being Head Boy and Girl - it's like the something _wanted_ this to happen, you know?" She reached out to grab Albus' hand, "I know you'll have a difficult time understanding...but I really want you to try, 'cause I'm having a little trouble understanding it myself."

"Says you." Scorpius muttered, and she swatted him on the shoulder with her free hand. Albus gave his favourite cousin a half-hearted smile and he nodded.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise." He whispered, and Rose smiled back. She leaned up to give him a grateful peck on the cheek and he leaned down to recieve it.

"Thanks Al, really. I know I can always count on you." She said. Scorpius was still looking away, his arm stiff against hers. Albus winked and stood up straight, his eyes wandering the room.

"Now I'll just pretend I didn't see anything and go on to look for my missing quill. I'll see you back in the common room, okay? Don't forget to tell Lily how _exciting_ patrol was tonight." He grinned again as he bounded towards the other side of the common room, where the study tables were. Rose gasped, her cheeks flushing red again. Scorpius found it impossible not to laugh.


	22. Rebels and Quidditch Players

_A/N: You can never truly _hate_ Albus._

_And first Facebook...now ? I'm really hating all of this change!_

_--_

**Rebels and Quidditch Players**

"G'mornin', Rosie." Albus jogged to his favourite cousin's side with an uncharacteristically wide grin on his thin face. Rose raised an eyebrow as they clambered out of the portrait hole together, making their way down the rotating staircases to the Great Hall for breakfast. Albus was always the shy, doubtful one of the both of them and to have him grinning like it was Christmas morning was downright suspicious.

"What is it, Al?" She finally asked as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. They were the first ones there - the both of them woke up early to finish a Potions assignment. There were only a few students littered about the Great Hall.

Albus did not answer her; he reached forward to grab a slice of toast. Rose slapped his shoulder and he jumped in his seat in shock.

"What? I can't act cheery in the morning?" He said, pulling the toast onto his plate. He picked up his knife and cut off a corner of a butter stick.

"Well, it seems awfully unorthodox of you." Rose replied as she stabbed at a few pancakes with her fork. Albus chuckled before biting into his toast.

"My morning cheeriness isn't the only thing that's unorthodox around here." He grinned, and Rose swatted his shoulder again.

"Keep it down, will you?" She hissed, her eyes darting left and right. Albus gave a barking laugh and patted his cousin's back.

"Like anybody knows what I'm referring to." He guffawed again as Lisa, Thomas and the rest of the Weasley piled into the Great Hall.

"You both are up pretty early." Hugo let out a huge yawn as he flopped down on the bench. Rose shrugged and reached for the scrambled eggs.

"We had work to finish up, so we got up an hour earlier than usual." She explained casually. Albus, unable to help himself, looked like his skin was going to rip from smiling so hard.

"Rose couldn't sleep anyway," He said as he dumped a pile of bacon onto his plate, "patrol was so eventful the other night she couldn't stop thinking about it."

Lisa, Lily and Jane stared at Rose, their eyes wide with shock and curiosity. Rose groaned and gave a short glare towards Albus before going on to explain herself.

"He's just exaggerating," She said quickly, "what really happened was that I thought I saw something in the hallways, but it really was just Mrs. Norris."

"That bloody cat's still alive? How many years has it been? Fifty? One hundred?" Thomas sniggered. Mandy shrugged her shoulders.

"She even outlived Crookshanks." She added before shoving a forkful of eggs into her mouth.

"Maybe Filch's gotten someone to put some kind of life charm or something on her." Dominique suggested, and suddenly everybody engaged themselves in a conversation about Mrs. Norris and her unusually lengthy lifespan. Rose sighed in relief, but then turned to narrow her eyes at Albus.

"What do you think you're doing?" She growled under her breath. Albus shook his head and held his hands up in a mock surrender.

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help myself." He said apologetically, but he was still grinning.

Albus had double Transfiguration while Rose had Arithmancy and spare (spare with Scorpius, to be more specific) and they separated after they finished breakfast. Rose felt relief wash over her as she made her way to class - she needed something to distract her from what happened earlier that morning.

Class dragged by, much to Rose's chagrin; she spent most, if not all of her time thinking about the things Albus had said. The bronze-haired Gryffindor was shaking her head disbelievingly as she made her way up to the library. Albus was an idiot - leave it up to a boy, your _best friend _and favourite cousin, to ruin everything.

"Not a morning person, I presume?" The deep drawling voice startled Rose and she nearly tripped over herself. She caught herself just in time and jerked her head upwards to face Scorpius, who was casually leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His platinum blonde bangs were jagged and wispy and they casually swept over his eyes; she resisted the urge to approach him, to reach up and brush them out of the way.

"Al was making stupid comments at breakfast." She muttered under her breath as she continued her walk. Scorpius caught up with her in two long strides - she mentally cursed him and his long legs.

"Ah," He ran a hand through his hair, "I'm not surprised."

"You don't understand; he could've _exposed-"_

"And if he did, what would it matter?"

_"Everything!" _She yelped a little louder than it should have been; luckily no one was around to hear her, "He was dropping very not-so subtle hints about you and me, Scorpius - my family isn't stupid, they're able to connect two and two together!"

"I think you're overreacting," The serenity in his tone only further infuriated her; he held the door open to the library for her and she stormed past him, "you _always _overreact on the smallest things - what's that Muggle saying - _there's no use crying over spilled milk?"_

"Shut up, shut up," She grumbled as she stalked past the towering bookshelves, not caring if Scorpius was following or not - but just to make sure, she glanced over her shoulder. Surely enough he was a few steps behind her with one of his 'you're-being-ridiculous' looks and his hands shoved in his pockets. She flopped down on the study table on the farthest side of the library, just before the restricted area, and pulled a few books out of her bag. She heard Scorpius dragging a chair towards her and she rolled her eyes.

"I kind of admit to missing the days where you used to loathe me," She muttered as she violently flipped through the pages of her Arithmancy textbook, "back then you weren't always breathing down my neck."

She did not know if he did this to spite her, or for his own amusement, but he inched closer to her face until she really _did_ feel him breathing on her neck. The quill in her hand slipped through her limp fingers and landed on her textbook with a soft thud, and her heartbeat accelerated to dizzying speeds - in fact she began to notice that the world around her began to spin as she felt his arms slip around her waist.

In their younger years he had a knack for pushing her buttons - now she realized that he was _gifted_ at it. Her skin doubled in temperature as he pressed his face against her neck, planting a trail of kisses down to her collarbone. Her fingers were twitching slightly but she made no other movement; he paralyzed her.

She shifted in his arms so that she was facing him, and she closed her eyes and let her lips collide with his in a smoldering kiss. His grip on her waist tightened and he pulled her closer to him, grunting when their stomachs touched. Rose's back arched and the dizzy feeling intensified.

He instantly pulled away - _too soon,_ she thought miserably. She stared back at him in disbelief, her cheeks flushed and her eyes flashing lividly, but her shoulders were not moving.

"You've got to breathe every once in awhile, you know." He reminded her, and at that instant her shoulders depressed as she took a deep lungful of air. It was a relieving feeling, and the heat from her face cooled a little, but her heart was still fluttering like hummingbird wings. He smiled her favourite crooked smile; she felt like she was going into cardiac arrest.

"Sorry," She breathed; she found it difficult to speak after they had their...moments, "I forget from time to time."

He shook his head and leaned closer towards her again, pressing his forehead against hers. His steel grey eyes searched her face; she felt like she should have said something but at the same time it seemed inappropriate to do so. He closed his eyes and sighed, and then he pulled away from her again. She felt an unpleasant aching growing in her chest and she longed to reach out to him, to fit in the contours of his body, but she forced her arms to stay where they were. In minutes the rational part of her awoke and began to take over; she felt the frustration from their previous conversation return and she swiveled in her chair to return to her textbook.

"I hate it when you distract me like that." Her tone was cutting and irritated again; she heard him scoff and it did not help lighten her mood.

"But it works, doesn't it?" He asked innocently, and she turned to roll her eyes at him. He waited for a snappy remark, but when she went back to her textbook he only laughed some more.

--

The air was getting warmer - it was a good sign, Albus mused. He was zooming around the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the Gryffindor team later that evening; their match with Ravenclaw was coming up this weekend and they were trying out a new playing strategy. Being captain of the team, like his brother and father before him, was no easy task - especially when Hugo and Randy were on the team.

"Boys," Roxanne, the newest and youngest addition to the team, muttered before kicking off into the air. The other Gryffindor Chaser, Dylan Royce, was in the hospital wing nursing a broken leg ("It was an accident involving two Fanged Frisbees, Potions class and wrong timing," Dylan explained sheepishly when Albus went to visit him earlier) so the team needed a fast replacement. Roxanne was the best Chaser out of all the Gryffindors that showed up to the tryout; he tried not to be biased, and when everyone found out he selected yet another family member it was natural for them to lash out. The tempest subsided quickly though, and nearly everybody was calm enough to see that Roxanne truly did have talent. Quidditch was a common trait in the Weasley family.

After two hours of trying to get Hugo and Randy to pay attention Albus decided to call it a day. The team shuffled into their change rooms; Albus switched back to his school robes in minutes, being used to changing in and out of his Quidditch robes since his first year. He waited patiently for his cousins to finish, and then they waited outside the girls' change room for Roxanne.

"That was some wicked flying you were doing today, Roxie," Hugo deep voice was approving as the four approached the school, "way better than Albus!"

"Maybe you'll take over as Seeker next year." Randy chimed; Roxanne ducked her head, embarrassed. Albus chortled with his family members all the way up to the common room; he was surprised to see Rose sitting in her usual squashy armchair by the fireplace, reading another one of her Jane Austen books.

"How was practice?" Thomas asked; he was lying on the floor with Jane, facing each other in Wizards Chess. Albus shrugged nonchalantly and moved to sit in the armchair opposite Rose's.

"Same old, same old." He said casually; Hugo moved to sit by Rose's feet while Randy dashed to his dormitory to grab his guitar, "I think we've got everything set for this weekend; it'll be an interesting game."

Rose acted as if Albus was not there; she kept her eyes glued to her book. He felt uneasiness growing inside of him and he tried to ignore her. Thomas, fortunately, reeled him into an engaging conversation about Quidditch strategies and it kept his mind off of Rose's behaviour for now. Knowing her, she was probably plotting his murder.

_Alright, no more wisecracks, _he thought timidly. He really was trying his best to understand just what exactly Rose saw in Scorpius, but it was so _impossible - _this was Scorpius Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! It could have easily been anybody else..._anybody_! He really did think that she was going to hit it off with Damien Byrne, but he was proven wrong; Damien insisted that he only saw Rose as a good friend and nothing more when Albus inquired him about it.

The conversation with Thomas ended too soon - Thomas muttered something about finishing an essay, and hurried off to his dormitory. Albus decided to play Jane in chess, but his younger cousin also had homework to do, and she ran off somewhere else. He pinched his nose with his index and thumb; it was like everybody was working _against _him today.

"I'll see you later," He heard Randy and Hugo exchange their goodnights as they moved to the stairs to their dormitories. Albus felt an abnormally large lump forming in his throat; that just left him and Rose. He feigned exhaustion, forcing a yawn and stretching his arms as he rose to his feet. He thought he was making his perfect getaway when Rose's stern voice piped up from behind, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Al," He cringed at the edge in her voice and he slowly spun on his heel to face her. She was still looking down on her lap, her eyes darting left to right as she read _Mansfield Park_, "you know I haven't really gotten over what happened this morning."

_Damn._ He set himself up for this, he knew it; he trudged over to his armchair and plopped down, his head hung in shame. "I said I was sorry." _What a childish excuse._

"Al, I trust you." She looked up; his heart wrung with guilt when he read the pained expression her eyes. He scratched the back of his head and pushed his glasses up, trying to find the right words to say.

"I know you do, and I feel really bad about what I did to you this morning," He was speaking so quickly he was not sure if he was aware of what he was saying, " and I admit I was being a git. I'm really, really, _really_ sorry Rosie - I'll do anything to make it up to you!" His voice grew more desperate and hysterical with every word - he noticed Rose's eyes growing wider with concern.

"I know this whole thing is a little...odd, but I know that you'd probably be dealing with it better than anyone else. Can you see Hugo reacting to this rationally?" She asked half-sarcastically, and Albus let out a dark laugh to accompany her tone.

"No, I guess not." He cast his eyes to the floor again, "It really is hard to accept, though."

Rose reached forward to take his hands in hers. His eyes were still staring at his shoes. "I don't blame you for going against it - like I told you yesterday, I'm only just beginning to understand it myself. We're not going to get it in a day, you know. That's how we learn things."

"I know." He raised his green gaze to smile weakly at her. She smiled back and drew back into her seat, her book flopping in her lap. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if his question was going to appall her, but he realized that it was just Rose, his best friend and nobody else. "What about your mum and dad? What will they think?"

Never in their entire lives had Albus stumped Rose; this time he might have actually done it. Her brow was creased with deep thought and her eyes were wandering around the room, searching for an answer to his question.

"Y'know, I don't think they matter much at the moment." She answered finally, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. He was a little taken back by her answer, mostly because Rose idolized her parents - her mother especially - and she never did anything without consulting them first. This was probably the first rebellious act she had ever performed in her entire life, and Albus could not help but feel a little proud. Rebelliousness, along with a knack for Quidditch, was also a common trait in their family.

"Good answer." He said, grinning. Rose grinned back - the Ron in her was easier to see when she smiled.

"Whatever's going to happen from here on, just remember that I'm with you every step of the way." Albus said, and he rose from his seat, "Now if you excuse me, I have a Transfiguration quiz to study for."

Rose got up as well and she nodded in understanding. She marked her place in her book with a ribbon and tucked the leather-bound tome under her arms.

"Alright. Thanks Al, for like the billionth time."

Albus winked before jogging to the stairs.

"This time, you don't have to owe me back."


	23. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

_A/N: Go ahead, you can shun me if you want - I honestly do deserve it._

_I want to apologize for putting this off for so long...if you're still reading, I _do _have somewhat of an excuse: exams and everything prevented me from continuing, and I do admit to a bit of writer's block over the holidays, but now I think I've got at least one foot back on the ground and I think I can plow on._

_Again, I sincerely apologize for my procrastination and I really hope this will not happen again!_

_Oh, and if you hate The Police, you are no longer my friend._

**Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic**

_Hello Mum and Dad,_

_I hope the sun's been treating you well in London as it has to us here in Hogwarts - I can practically _feel_ summer approaching! I'm preparing for my exams, which seem to be approaching quicker than ever, but I'm pretty sure I'm not as stressed out as Rose is, with the NEWTs and all. Hopefully she'll be in good shape for when the actual exams come, because right now she looks as if she never got a good night's sleep in years. It kind of worries me._

_Actually, now that I mention it, Rose _has_ been acting a little out of character in the past few months or so, and I can't figure out why. She's been sort of avoiding us lately, and she would leave the common room at odd times. She makes excuses about leaving, usually something farfetched like head duty when it's only two in the afternoon. I talked to Hugo and Albus about it; Hugo's as clueless as ever and Albus seemed to have shrugged me off. I have a feeling he knows something, and I'm going to find out what._

_Maybe you guys can get something out of her? If it's something she doesn't want to tell me or Hugo or anybody else, surely she'll be able to open up to you. Her behaviour is very worrisome, and I really want to know if she's alright or not._

_It's time for dinner, which means I have to end my letter. I hope time will fly by so I can finally come home!_

_Love,_

_ Jane_

Ron's eye was twitching by the time Hermione had finished reading their youngest daughter's letter to him. His hands were balled up into quivering fists, shaking dangerously on his lap. Ollie mewed worriedly and thought carefully about striding over to comfort him; instead he turned the other way and clambered onto Hermione's lap.

_"Malfoy," _Ron hissed through gritted teeth; Hermione rolled her eyes and Ollie even shook his head, "it's him, I know he's the reason behind this. Oh, that boy is going to pay…"

"Honestly, Ron," Hermione muttered exasperatingly, "just because Rose is acting strange doesn't mean that it's all Scorpius' doing! Maybe she really is just stressed out over exams; I knew I was when NEWTs were coming up."

"But that's just you - you were always off your rocker when something big and school-related was coming up! Rosie can handle anything; she's tough, she's a _Weasley! _There must be something else bothering her, and I can't think of any other reason besides Malfoy's boy!" Ron exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air to emphasize his point. Ollie blinked at him twice, then proceeded to lick his paws. Hermione rolled her eyes again as she brandished a quill and parchment, ready to reply to Jane's letter.

"Your strong sense of prejudice never ceases to amaze me." She mumbled as she began scribbling on the parchment; Ron groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. Hermione looked up and her expression softened at the slightest.

"Look, I'm just as concerned as you are, but can't you just let go of the whole _Malfoy-is-the-reason-behind-everything-wrong _theory? Harry grew out of it, and so should you."

"Maybe I'm not ready to grow out of it." Ron grumbled stubbornly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Hermione shook her head and resumed writing.

"It'll tire you out eventually."

--

The month of May was one of Scorpius' favourite times of the year.

May was in the middle of spring and summer so it was just the right temperature: not too hot with a slight breeze. The sky was a warm blue with not a speck of cloud, and the sun shone brightly over the courtyards and the lake, sending millions of sparkles along its dark waters. He had just finished his first class of the day and now had spare; he had time to soak in as much of the beautiful weather as time permitted.

Lately he had found himself taking notice of his surroundings. It was as if someone had cranked up the volume on the radio, or painted over an old picture with brighter colours; everything looked so _alive_ to him. It was easier to hear the swishing of the leaves as the wind combed through them, and the splashing of fins (and tentacles) flapping against the glassy surface of the lake. The greens, pinks, blues, reds, purples, yellows and oranges of the outdoors stood out even more than they used to; flowers smelled more appealing and the grass always smelled like it was freshly cut.

Everything was _beautiful _now, for some reason.

He strode casually along the cobblestone pathway, then eventually crossing over to the grass, feeling plush under his shoes. His hands were in his pockets but he could feel his fingers twitching, uneasy and nervous, but on the outside he retained his cool and collected persona. The wind rifled through his messy, spiky hair and his wrinkled clothing as he approached the beech tree, and the girl studying underneath it.

It was like looking into a Renaissance-era painting: everything looked lush, vibrant and extremely detailed. The beech tree's canopy was not enough to cast her entirely in shadow, and the sun poked through the leaves and highlighted parts of her hair, making it look redder than usual as it spilled over her shoulders in waves of soft curls. Her long lashes looked like they were brushing her cheekbones as she concentrated on her textbook. He stood only a few feet away from her, staring and examining her in awed silence, taking in whatever he could.

A few minutes passed and she finally noticed his presence, looking up to stare at him with a pair of eyes so blue that no sapphire would ever compare to. They were as dark as the deepest oceans and as warm as the summer sky. She held him captive under her stare and she was not even aware of it.

"If you were somebody else I would've been a little disturbed." She was smiling now, her lips stretched back over a set of white, straight teeth. He smirked and stepped closer towards her, sitting down when he was close enough. The grass felt cool under his palms as he leaned over to peer at the textbook she was reading. He breathed in her scent - books and her favourite shampoo.

"Arithmancy?" He made a face, "Why is it that whenever I catch you studying you're always doing Arithmancy?"

"Because it's probably the most difficult subject I have, and because I enjoy doing it." Rose replied almost indignantly, shuffling over a pile of parchment. Her eyes scanned the courtyard for anybody that was within a five metre radius, "You know you shouldn't be here...at least not so close-"

"Please don't start that again," He complained, "there's nobody here that would bother to notice, and we can just play this off as if we're studying for NEWTs together. Simple." He then leaned closer to press the side of his head against her neck.

"I don't think they'd be convinced that we're studying if you're doing _that." _She tried to sound annoyed, but it came out all wrong and she ended up giggling at the end. She leaned away from him for a moment to stare at him; she looked serious again, "But really Scorpius, we shouldn't-"

He rolled his eyes before moving in to kiss her fully on the mouth, not caring if anybody was staring. He felt her resist; she pressed her palms against his chest and feebly tried to push him away, but he knew it would only take a few seconds before she began to gave in - and he never stood corrected. She relaxed and slid her hands upwards towards his hair, and she let him lower her to the soft grass. Soon he was on top of her, careful not to roll over on her books or the ink bottle, immersed in each other. The only reason why they pulled apart a few minutes later was because they were running short of breath.

"Honestly," Her breathing was ragged as he pulled her back up, "how could anyone _not_ see that?" She looked around the courtyard again; nobody was gawking in their direction, and there were not any jaws touching the floor. Scorpius chuckled and reached to tuck a strand of bronze hair behind her ear.

"You must have your uncle's luck." He smirked her favourite crooked smirk and she threw her head back in laughter; it sounded silvery and musical to him. She grabbed her Arithmancy textbook, which had fallen out of her lap due to previous events, and flipped to a certain page.

"Now why don't I enlighten you on a few basic principles to kill the time?" She asked sweetly, gesturing to a complicated looking diagram. A red light went off in Scorpius' head and he backed away instinctively.

"I think I'm gonna go find Holden - y'know, brainstorm on some possible new strategies for Quidditch and such." She laughed at his response and leaned in to peck him on the cheek. His face felt really warm now.

"Alright, alright," She shook her head and he marveled at how every curl of her hair swayed gracefully around her shoulders, "I'll see you later then."

He stood up and began his semi-long walk back to the school, looking over his shoulder once to see that Rose had resumed the position she was in before he came to interrupt her: sitting peacefully underneath the shade of the beech tree with a thick textbook in her lap, the light wind moving her hair and ruffling her clothing - a Renaissance masterpiece.

Every little thing she did was magic to him.

--

What started off as a perfect day came crashing down later on in the early evening.

"Letter," Lyra had told her brother the minute he walked into the common room. She threw Scorpius a black envelope with his name etched in silver ink - it was from their father.

Normally Draco never wrote to his children, which was the reason why Scorpius and Lyra were a little shocked to discover that he had taken the time out of his busy schedule to send one - and so late in the year too. Scorpius moved to sit down in the leathery armchair by the fire; Lyra sat in the one opposite of him. She waited patiently as he tore the envelope open. The elegant, gothic-like script was surely Draco's handwriting.

_"Scorpius,_

_ It is nearly the end of your final year at Hogwarts and I am writing to you to remind you that NEWTs is swiftly approaching. You are expected to pass these exams with high enough marks to continue in my place at the are next in line in our family tree and there is a lot to be expected of you. Do not fail me or your grandfather, and don't you dare let that Weasley girl or Potter boy upstage you."_

"Didn't even bother to sign his name at the bottom?" Lyra joked dryly; Scorpius rolled his eyes and tossed her the letter. He ran a hand through his hair and glared at the fire.

Since his days with Rose thoughts of his father and the rest of his family were nonexistent; he never worried about what Draco or Lucius thought of him as he spent more and more time with Rose - all that mattered was that he was with her. Their last names did not exist when they were together, which made things even more blissful.

"He expects too much of you." Lyra said quietly. He turned to face his sister, who was still looking over the short letter, "Sometimes I wonder what goes through adults' heads. It doesn't seem like they realize we're living in a much more different world than the one they grew up in."

He felt a little relieved and scared at the same time; he was relieved because he knew now that he was not the only one who thought that way, and scared because he had a feeling that Lyra was implying something. Before she had the chance to pry further he stood up and made his way towards the entrance.

"Patrol." He said quickly when he read the surprised expression on his sister's face.

--

He still was not in the mood by the time he reached the prefects' common room; Rose automatically knew there was something wrong and tried to talk him into explaining, but he distanced himself by replying vaguely that they had a duty to fulfill.

He strolled the stone hallways in a strained silence, his hand brushing against the ornate engraved patterns on the wall. The burning torches flickered wildly in his eyes; his face was expressionless.

Just when things were getting better, his bloody father had to write him a letter to remind him of all the things he had been trying so hard to avoid. He had no idea what he wanted to after Hogwarts but the idea of sitting all day in an office with stuffy middle-aged witches and wizards did not sound appealing at all.

_You are expected to pass these exams with high enough marks to continue in my place at the Ministry._

He was _expected _to follow in his father's footsteps, and Lucius', and all the other males in the Malfoy family. He was doomed to a colourless, prejudiced life spent nine to five underground with people he had to pretend to like.

_Everyone knows who you are; you can't escape your name, _his conscience nagged.

He did not want to be a Malfoy anymore; he wanted to be somebody else.

_Like who? Albus Potter? I bet you'd bloody _love_ to step into his polished shoes, wouldn't you? Live the life of the son of a famous wizard who saved the world; you've got everything and everyone at your feet._

Potter's life was not as glossy and perfect as everyone thought it was; he will live the rest of his life being compared to Harry - how was that perfect? Everyone would expect him to grow up to be _just like him._

_But that's exactly what's happening with you and your old man, isn't it? Guess you and Potter aren't that different after all - you were both born underneath a shadow._

At least Potter was not dubbed as the reincarnation of Voldemort the day he was born.

_Then that makes you special don't you think? Was it _really _coincidence that you were born on the day Lord Voldemort stormed into James and Lily Potter's home and struck them down with that Killing Curse?_

Of course it bloody was - it was not like he had world domination written in his planner.

He shook his head violently as he turned the corner, only to collide with Rose. He was the bigger one of the both of them, so he was able to regain his composure, but she was toppling to the floor. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to her feet with ease.

"Sorry," He murmured distractedly, and stepped aside to continue walking, but Rose grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back to her.

"I want to know what's going on," There was hurt reflecting in her eyes and a wave of guilt washed over him, "you've been acting differently in such a short amount of time."

"It's nothing, really," He shrugged his shoulders, but Rose stayed put, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes narrowing. He sighed and scratched the back of his head, "I'm serious."

"You're worse at this than I am," She smirked; she stepped closer to him and rested her arms on his shoulders, clasping her hands together behind his head, "don't shut me out, Scorpius; I want to help you."

He was so used to keeping everything to himself; the feeling of somebody reaching out to him was something he was unfamiliar with and he shied away, ducking out of her grasp and turning his back on her.

"It's complicated, Rose." He said.

"We still have at least an hour before we're finished." She replied. He shook his head in defeat and turned around to face her; she was not going to let this one go.

"My father sent me a letter today." He said bluntly, and she nodded, gesturing for him to continue. He moved over to the wall and sat down; she followed suit and leaned against his side. She rested her head on his shoulder and intertwined their fingers as he pressed his chin against the top of her head. He explained how his father and grandfather expected so much of him, and how he did not want to spend the rest of his life working in a stuffy, cramped office. He rambled on about his birthday and the rumour on how he was supposedly Voldemort's reincarnate. She listened patiently, not saying a word until he was finished.

"What _do _you want to be, then?" She asked, looking up at him curiously. He shrugged his shoulders at the question.

"I honestly have no idea what I want to do...but the sound of sitting in an office from nine to five doesn't sound at all pleasing." He muttered. She giggled and nuzzled his neck affectionately.

"Adults find routines peaceful; they feel safe and sheltered when they follow a schedule. As you grow older you will find anything spontaneous disrupting and nonsensical. It's funny, the way things work." Her voice sounded different, as if she was talking more to herself. His hand left hers and he threw an arm around her shoulder.

"He also left me strict instructions on making sure you and your cousin don't _upstage _me on exams." He smirked. Rose giggled and shook her head.

"That's a little farfetched, don't you think?" She smiled up at him; Scorpius nodded in agreement and stared ahead of him, at the opposite wall.

"Yeah," He agreed, "I don't think I'll ever be able to beat you in anything. You're too smart."

She swatted his arm. "That's not what I meant!"

"I know what you mean," He turned to look at her; her blue depths were flickering under the torchlight and her cheeks were slightly flushed, "you're...perfect."

"What?" She leaned backwards to study his face properly, "That's completely off topic; what made you say that?"

"I dunno," He reached out and placed his hands on either side of her face, feeling something he never felt before, "I'm just looking at you now and I realize that you're simply perfect. You make everything _look_ better than it should, like I can see all the tiny details and read in between the lines because of you. You make me forget about my father and everything else that makes me feel bad; you drown it out."

Rose was staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Her jaw was slightly slack and her arms were limp by her sides. He drew back, afraid of her reaction, but then relaxed when her mouth curved into a small smile.

"I have never heard you speak like that before, and I must say...I like it." She reached for him and he closed the distance between them by wrapping his arms around her small waist; she tilted her head so that their lips would meet in perfect symmetry. When they broke apart he pressed his forehead against hers; they were both breathing hard.

"If only they taught the kind of magic you can do." He whispered.


	24. Out of All People

**Out of All People**

"Can you believe we're almost graduating? Only one month left!" Albus exclaimed as he and Rose made their way to the Great Hall one morning.

"Al, you can't forget that before graduation we have a little something called NEWTs. Those exams can determine our futures!" Rose countered as they pushed the large doors open. They were a little earlier than usual today, so the tables were still pretty vacant. Automatically Rose's eyes flitted over to the Slytherin table to check if Scorpius was up early - he was not. Her face fell in disappointment and Albus shook with laughter.

"It's not like he's disappeared completely," Albus smirked as he sat down beside her; he immediately reached for a plate of toast. Rose swiped at his arm playfully before pouring herself a glass of orange juice, "and NEWTs so do _not_ determine everything. There's more to life than academics, y'know."

"I know that, but NEWTs are still very important. Have you started studying yet?"

Albus snorted. "Rosie, we still have _one_ month left."

"That doesn't mean anything! You have to start studying today!" Rose lectured, and Albus groaned.

"But today's Saturday...and it's really nice outside-"

"Then we'll study outside." Rose gave him a sickly sweet smile and he groaned again.

"But I promised your brothers that I'd play a bit of Quidditch with them this afternoon-" He whined. Rose rolled her eyes. _Boys._

"Okay, okay - we'll study for a few hours, and then we'll go for lunch and then you can play."

Albus' eyes widened in horror. _"A few hours? _How the bloody hell can you _survive_ that long?"

"I have discipline." Rose replied indignantly. They continued to eat their breakfast for the next ten minutes, arguing about last assignments and exams; every now and then Rose sneaked a glance over at the Slytherin table but Scorpius never showed up, and she was beginning to grow a little worried.

"It's Saturday, Rosie - normal people sleep in on the weekends." Albus said when he caught her staring at the Slytherin table for the seventeenth time in the last five minutes.

"Then why aren't you sleeping in?" She smirked, and Albus' cheeks tinged a faint pink, caught off guard.

"Okay, you got me there, but really, you shouldn't be worrying. What could possibly go wrong?" They left the Great Hall together and made their way onto the grounds, towards their beech tree by the lake.

"I dunno, but I just can't help but worry." Rose frowned as they settled themselves into the soft grass. The sun was still high and the sky was a clear blue, mottled by only a few white puffy clouds. Albus chuckled and leaned back against the tree trunk, placing his hands behind his head.

"He'll be out lookin' for you soon, don't worry." He muttered before closing his eyes. The warm weather was irresistible and the hazy breeze lulled him to sleep, but just when he fell completely unconscious Rose smacked his arm and he toppled onto the grass. Albus readjusted his glasses and gave his favourite cousin a pointed glare. Rose rolled her eyes.

"I know it's nice out but you really need to start studying. You'll be glad I pushed you into this; I'd rather have you not panicking a day before exams start."

"Okay, okay - fire away with the questions, then." Albus muttered, and Rose smirked triumphantly. She flipped through a few pages, looking for something to quiz him on, but she kept watch for Scorpius from the corner of her eye.

--

"Malfoy!"

Scorpius bolted straight up from bed, his slate grey eyes flashing with shock. He quickly looked around the room, searching for the person who called his name. Holden Zabini was standing by the doorway, looking aghast. Scorpius groaned and flopped back into lying position, pressing a pillow on top of his head.

"What do you want?" He muttered, his voice muffled beneath the pillow. Holden huffed in frustration and strode over to Scorpius' bed. He grabbed on the ends of the covers and yanked them off; Scorpius yelped in surprise.

"Bloody hell Zabini; it's too cold and early for this!" He complained as he rubbed at his arms and calves. Holden rolled his eyes.

"It's nearly twenty degrees outside and it's eleven o'clock in the morning," Holden explained; Scorpius shrugged indifferently, "and Tatia's throwing a fit."

The Head Boy laughed bitterly. "What do I bloody care? She's already traumatized me enough as it is!"

"She's throwing a fit because of you, mate." Holden said gravely. Scorpius sat up very slowly and gave his friend a confused look.

"What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to her recently…" His pulse was racing and his blood was boiling; he felt the heat rise to his neck and face and he was sure Holden was able to see.

"It's an odd story really-" Holden tossed Scorpius' sheets back on the bed; Scorpius unconsciously wrapped the warm blankets around him as if to protect himself, "-a couple of days ago, around late morning, she was walking to her next class when she saw you and Rose Weasley sitting by the lake, under that old tree."

Scorpius scoffed and made a face, hoping Holden was convinced that it was nothing. "We were studying for NEWTs and rearranging the next prefect meeting. She's jumping to conclusions." He gulped loudly, trying to force the lump down his throat. He used to be so good at lying too…

"Oh, studying for NEWTs, you say?" Holden made a face that Scorpius could not read, "So when she saw you two snogging like your lives depended on it, you were really studying for NEWTs?"

Scorpius knew this was coming; he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think of something to say, but was interrupted by Holden's rancorous laugh.

_What will he think of me now?_

"I really should've seen this coming." Holden threw his hands up in defeat and Scorpius cursed under his breath, "You've been forced to pair up in every assignment we've ever had since we came to this school, your parents have set you up against each other since the days you were born, and now you're both Heads. How much more _star-crossed_ could this possibly get?"

"I never knew you read Muggle literature." Scorpius mumbled pathetically.

"It helps to broaden the horizon, Malfoy." Holden hissed; he wrapped one arm around a bedpost and pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand, "Can you _please_ enlighten me with the truth?"

"Alright, alright," Scorpius grumbled; he leapt out of bed and mussed up his hair, "but can I at least wash up first?"

Holden waved him off dismissively and Scorpius raced to the bathrooms to do what he needed to do, not forgetting to grab some clothes along the way. He came back dressed in loose faded jeans, trainers and a white t-shirt, looking rather refreshed and not as groggy as he did ten minutes earlier (but his hair was still a despairing mess). He moved to sit on the edge of his bed; Holden was glaring at him impatiently.

"You kind of had it at the whole star-crossed thing I guess," Scorpius admitted sheepishly, "the fact that our parents kind of _set everything up_ invoked most of it. You always go for the forbidden fruit."

"Or at least the forbidden Gryffindor girl, in this case." Holden smirked; Scorpius exhaled in relief when he noticed the change in his friend's mood, "Now that I think about it, the attraction's sort of always been there."

The Slytherin Quidditch captain's cheeks flushed a deep scarlet. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Malfoy - I'd probably the the first of hundreds of people that share this opinion. All of those stupid arguments couldn't be for nothing. The way you two fought, even when we were younger, it's kind of...different. You argue with more energy, more passion than if you had a row with anybody else."

"Nice to know you've been keeping a close eye on me, Zabini." Scorpius smirked teasingly, and Holden rolled his eyes.

"I was referring to the both of you, idiot." A loud wailing noise erupted from the common room and the two friends twitched in response; Holden clamped his eyes shut and shook his head, "Oh Merlin, she's here. She was complaining all morning in the Great Hall; people must've gotten tired of her."

The two friends waited in a strangled silence as they listened to the noises coming from downstairs; Tatia's voice sounded musical even when she was hopping mad and on the verge of tears. They heard a number of footsteps climbing the stairs and Scorpius swore his heart stopped, but when the door to the girls' dormitory closed he and Holden heaved a sigh of relief.

"This is your chance, Malfoy." Holden began pushing Scorpius towards the door, "Go and warn Rose before all hell breaks loose."

"You have no idea what that girl is capable of," Scorpius groaned, "her wrath is ten times worse than hell - a million times worse than Voldemort coming back for revenge-"

"Shut up and get out already!" Holden hissed as he wrenched the door open. He pushed Scorpius outside. The blond straightened his shirt for a moment and turned around to face his friend, his expression shy.

"So does this mean you don't care that Rose and I...y'know?"

"Times have changed, Malfoy." Holden gave his friend a reassuring smirk, "Now get your arse out of here before Tatia hears you!"

"Thanks mate," Scorpius managed to say before Holden shut the door in his face. He spun on his heel and leaped down the stairs two steps at a time, landing on the floor with a soft thud. He raced out of the common room and navigated through the dungeons. He stepped into the main foyer, smiling when he felt the warmth of the sun reach his face.

_Now if I were a bossy, know-it-all, self-righteous Gryffindor Head Girl, where would I be?_

_--_

"In order to interact with a Hippogriff without getting injured, what must you do first?" Rose stared at her cousin promptly, who was yawning and adjusting his glasses.

"Um…" Albus' attention strayed away from their studies for a brief moment, only to notice a tall blond running for his life in their direction, "Scorpius Malfoy?" He was squinting behind his glasses to make sure he was accurate.

"What kind of answer is that?" Rose cried out, but when she turned in the direction Albus was staring towards, she noticed a hysterical looking Scorpius Malfoy approaching them. He stopped running just a few feet away, bending over and resting his hands on his knees. He was huffing heavily; Rose and Albus exchanged looks of suspicion and confusion.

"What is it?" Rose asked patiently. Scorpius looked up; his face was flushed from running so hard and his shoulders were heaving up and down with his strained breaths.

"I-I need...to speak with y-you…" He wheezed; Rose figured that being a Quidditch captain he would be in top shape. She glanced over at Albus, who shrugged indifferently, but she shook her head and returned her attention to the panting Slytherin.

"Whatever it is you need to say, you can say to the both of us." She said, and it caught both boys by surprise. Albus placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright Rosie," He said, but she shook her head again and smiled sadly.

"I've left you out of too much, Al, and it wasn't right for me to do such a thing. We're best friends - cousins - and I should know by now that I wouldn't be able to hide anything from you anyways."

He smiled back and nodded, then turned to face Scorpius, who was now sitting on the grass, but still looked rather exhausted.

"Honestly Scorpius, I thought you were in grand shape." Rose raised a questionable eyebrow; Scorpius waved her off dismissively.

"She knows." He said gravely. Rose only looked more confused and Albus shrugged his shoulders again.

"Who?" They asked at the same time, and Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"What other _she_ would I be referring to? Think!"

Rose's eyes automatically drifted upwards as she sifted through her thoughts; Albus made a face and stared at the grass. A minute later, their eyes reverted back to Scorpius.

"Tatia Schultz!" They whispered simultaneously; Scorpius nodded and crossed his arms. Rose gasped and placed her hands over her mouth while Albus nodded slowly and stared off into the distance.

"This is bad." Rose concluded; the blond nodded in agreement and scooted closer to her so they could hear each other properly.

"Holden Zabini told me she's been complaining all morning; she saw us a couple of days ago, right here-" He gestured towards the beech tree, "-doing...er, _studying for NEWTs."_

Albus made a face. "Please don't get into any details."

"She's been in the Great Hall talking about it, but now she's back in the common room." Scorpius explained; Rose's face and ears were a very deep shade of red, "Zabini told me to warn you."

"It's a good thing you did." She whispered tonelessly; her face was blank now, "Everybody knows now - everyone was probably having breakfast in the Great Hall at the same time Tatia was acting out. _Everyone knows."_

"I reckon it won't be as bad as you think; Zabini was perfectly fine with it, and Potter here seems okay with it too."

"You forgot to add the fact that I wanted to practically gouge my own eyes out at first." Albus interjected miserably, and Scorpius chuckled.

"But you're alright with it now, aren't you? So why shouldn't the rest of your family be?"

"You don't understand, Scorpius," Rose's eyes were brimmed with tears, "our parents - well, my dad in particular - have been talking rubbish about your family for practically forever. I don't remember him saying one good thing about Draco Malfoy, or Lucius, even-"

"He didn't even add that we Malfoys are known for our deceiving wit and charm? Shame-"

_"Scorpius!"_

"Sorry."

"We've all been prejudiced from the start; just because we've gotten over first impressions doesn't mean everybody else will."

"Well if they don't then they only have themselves to blame," Scorpius was absently ripping out blades of glass by the handful, "if you're thick enough to accept only what people tell you instead of actually seeing it for yourself, then it's your fault for being so narrow minded."

"That was the smartest thing I've ever heard you say, Malfoy." Albus was gaping at him; Scorpius grinned in reply. Rose shook her head and rubbed her face on her sleeve to dry her eyes.

"I don't know - there's just so many..._too many_ against us. I don't know how this is going to work-"

"People are probably wondering right now: _'why are Rose Weasley and Albus Potter sitting with Scorpius Malfoy under that beech tree, chatting it up like old friends?' _You can't really go through life without being stared at, Rose - sooner or later somebody's going to notice that something's out of place." He reached for her hand and noticed how cold it was, despite the warm weather; Albus gulped uncomfortably and backed up against the beech tree to give them space, "The question is whether or not you have the strength to stand up and admit that you're _not_ perfect."

"But to one person, you can be." She whispered, and smiled through her tears. Scorpius smirked and took her face in his hands, his thumbs brushing at the skin just underneath her eyelids to wipe the tears away.

"Because there will always be that one person who's thick enough to believe so." He was about to lean in towards her when a loud coughing noise erupted from the beech tree.

"Oi, d'you mind?" Rose and Scorpius had almost completely forgotten that Albus was with them, and they broke out into fits of laughter.

"Sorry," Rose apologized quickly the moment she recomposed herself; she looked upwards through the beech tree's canopy and noticed that the sun was almost directly above their heads, "what do you suppose we do about Tatia - and even worse, our own families?"

"Let me worry about Tatia; you two should handle your neighbourhood of a family." Scorpius stood up and brushed the loose grass off of his jeans; he held out a hand towards Rose and he pulled her up swiftly. Albus gathered his and Rose's books and stuffed them into their respectable schoolbags.

"I'm supposed to play a bit of Quidditch with Hugo and Randy soon...maybe I can talk to them." He handed Rose her bag and she thanked him, "I guess I'll have to talk with Lisa too…"

"I won't have trouble talking to the Goyle brothers, since they're just a couple of blockheads anyway; Maybe Parkinson might prove to be a bit of a struggle, but I doubt it." Scorpius grinned. Albus laughed, and Rose smiled, happy that the both of them have struck a chord with each other.

"I have a bit of time before my game with your brothers, Rosie, so why don't we go for a bit of lunch? All three of us?" Albus suggested, and Scorpius shrugged.

"I am getting a little hungry." He admitted. Rose smiled and began to walk down the small hill towards the school, the sun shining scarlet into her soft curls.

"Sounds good to me!" She laughed; Scorpius and Albus exchanged amused looks.

"Who do you think will have the biggest reaction, aside from Tatia?" Albus asked. Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows as he thought of an answer.

"Hm...I think I'd have to say Hugo, her giant of a brother." Albus chuckled and shook his head.

"Good one, but I think I'd have to go with my brother, James. He'll go completely mad."

"What do you say we make a small wager then?" Scorpius smirked, "Five Knuts for whoever proves their person will be more nutters."

"I like the sound of that," Albus brought his hand out and Scorpius shook it firmly, "may the best man win, mate."


	25. What Now?

_A/N: I know most of you are wondering why neither of our boys voted for Mr. Ronald Weasley himself, and that's because they probably know that his reaction would be the worst. It's only natural to think that the girl's daddy would blow up and cause chaos for everybody, don't you think? They're trying to think outside the box here, haha._

_And chewing-gum-addicted, once this is over you can have all the Holden you want._

_PS: After this fic is done I'm most likely going to be shifting over to Legend of Zelda - I have a really good idea for a drama-ish story (don't worry, I'll try to incorporate my sarcastic wit into some parts), so if any of you fine readers are a fan of the game series, be sure to be on the lookout for that!_

**What Now?**

"Lily, Lily, where are you?"

Rose was nervously combing through the aisles of the library, frantically searching for her younger cousin. She was gripping her textbook so hard her knuckles were whitening, and her eyes were wide and fearful.

She had no idea what to expect from her cousin; she knew that Lily had her mother's temper, and that was something she feared. What was she going to say, and worst of all, how was she going to explain to her other cousins...and her sisters?

She spun on her heel to turn the corner, and she froze a few feet away from the study table by the window, the same study table she and Albus usually sat in.

Not only was Lily sitting there, but _all_ of the others were: Roxanne, Jane, Mandy, Dominique and Lisa were crowded around the table, their heads bent together in hushed conversation. Rose had a feeling they were talking about _her._

She cleared her throat loudly to get everyone's attention, and her heart rate doubled when Mandy faced her with a raised eyebrow, her expression loathing. Lily's was even worse; she looked like she was going to strike and attack at any given moment. Dominique and Roxanne looked disappointed; Jane and Lisa were the only ones who looked at least neutral.

Rose twiddled her fingers in a nervous greeting. "Erm, I guess you were all in the Great Hall this morning?"

"Come take a seat, dear sister," Mandy pulled out a chair in between her and Jane and gestured towards it, "we need to talk."

The table was silent as Rose stepped forward to join them. She felt like a prisoner on death row; their eyes were watching her every move, as if they expected her to do something sudden, like admitting that what they had just heard this morning was a silly rumour.

"So I've taken you've heard-"

"Who _didn't_ hear that girl this morning, Rose, besides our blockheads for brothers who decide to sleep in on a day like this?" Mandy rolled her eyes. Jane gave her a pointed stare, then turned to Rose and patted her hand. Rose was surprised Lily did not speak yet, but she looked like she was holding it in for later.

"Give her a moment to explain everything." Jane intervened, and Rose mouthed a silent 'thank you' to her youngest sister.

"What exactly did Tatia say?" Rose thought that asking such a question would give off a strong start; Lisa hesitated for a moment before answering.

"She said that she saw you and Scorpius under that tree by the lake a few days ago…" She hesitated again, her cheeks turning into a violent shade of scarlet. Rose gestured for her to continue, but Dominique spoke instead.

"She said that at first she saw you two talking, or studying, whatever, and then you two leaned in and began snogging...and she said that you looked like you both _enjoyed it!"_

Rose gulped. "Okay, well there _is_ a logical explanation for this, and it's a bit of a lengthy story-"

"Skip the story and get to the point." Lily grunted, and Rose nodded quickly, in fear that if she did anything else her younger cousin would unleash her hellish wrath.

"Despite all of the prejudices we've been given before we even met, Scorpius and I have somehow found a way to live...without them. He's really not as bad as you think-"

"What did I say about _getting to the point?"_

"We're going out." Rose blurted, and everyone gasped.

"I _knew _it," Mandy grumbled.

"Oh my," Lisa had a hand over her mouth; Dominique was muttering in French; Roxanne was shaking her head; Lily's face was unreadable. Jane was the only one who seemed unfazed by the truth and she smiled.

"I'm happy for you, Rosie." She said warmly. This time it was Rose's turn to gasp.

"You're not in a state of denial like the others?"

"Why should I? I can't choose anybody for you, and it's not like you can either. Things just happen that way, and even if he is the last person we'd all expect, at least he's _somebody. _Is he really not that bad?"

"Oh Jane, we've all misjudged him, and in the beginning I felt terrible for thinking so - actually now that I think about it, I still do feel bad about it." Everybody else seemed to calm down a bit (except for Lily of course, who was still scowling) and turned to pay attention, "He acknowledges the fact that he's made mistakes in the past when he listened to his father, but now that he's older he thinks apart from him and he wants to make a change. He doesn't want to grow up to be like Draco Malfoy - he wants to be _Scorpius_, somebody that isn't a bloody arrogant toerag."

There was a moment of strained silence; for a second Rose thought they were all going to pounce on her and rip her apart, but instead Roxanne leaned forward with a shy look on her face.

"So...is he a good kisser?"

--

"Nice save there, Hugo."

The taller Weasley swatted the Quaffle back towards his younger brother; Randy caught it with ease and began zipping around the field in complicated rhythms and patterns. Albus was floating stock still, looking like he was on another planet.

"Oi, Al - are you alright?" Hugo called from the goalposts; Albus tugged at his collar and waved towards his cousin.

"Y-yes, it's just this dratty weather that's getting to me...it's getting warmer and all…"

He began moving around to avoid suspicion; Randy tossed him the Quaffle and he half-heartedly tried to shoot it past Hugo, but instead it went soaring in a completely other direction. This time both of the Weasley brothers approached their troubled cousin.

"There's definitely something bothering you, mate. What's the matter?" Randy asked. Albus laughed nervously and shook his head; he was shaking so hard his glasses almost came off.

"I don't know what you're talking about; I'm fine. I already told you it's the sun that's slowing me down."

"The sun's never slowed you down before, Al." Hugo replied skeptically. Albus laughed again, even louder and more hysterical than the last, and waved his cousin off before zooming a few feet away. He raised his arms and began flailing them desperately, as if he were drowning and were seeking help.

"C'mon then!" Albus called out to them, "Pass me the Quaffle! I'll be sure to knock it in this time!"

"What's gotten into him?" Randy raised an eyebrow; Hugo shrugged his bony shoulders and dove downwards to scoop up the fallen Quaffle. The Weasley brothers and Albus resumed tossing around the ball for another half hour before calling it a day; it was not as much fun with only two people _really_ playing.

"Are you sure nothing's bothering you? You look like your head's been knocked with a Bludger." The three boys were now walking on the short dirt pathway back to the main grounds.

"I'm fine, Hugo, really - it's this heat, why won't you believe me…" Albus' voice was too dazed and distracted to be convincing; Hugo and Randy stepped in front of their cousin to prevent him from walking any further.

"Okay Potter, spit it out. What's on your mind?" Both of the Weasley brothers were wearing stern expressions on their pale, freckled faces. Albus gulped and took a cautious step backward. He was never known as the graceful one in the family, so it was unsurprising when he somehow tripped over his own feet and toppled to the ground. His broom came down with him, clattering and forming small dust clouds as it came in contact with the ground.

"H-honestly guys, this isn't necessary-"

"Yes it is, Al. C'mon now, there's nothing you can't tell us." Randy was the softer one of the two brothers, and he held out his hand towards his older cousin. Albus reluctantly took it and let Randy pull him up to his feet. He dusted off his jeans and adjusted his glasses.

_I guess I can't hold it off any longer…_

"I reckon you weren't in the Great Hall this morning?" He asked; both brothers shook their heads.

"We slept in a little later than usual," Hugo admitted sheepishly. Albus gulped loudly; the fact that they were not there to hear Tatia's whining would only intensify their reaction…

"Ho-kay then," Albus inhaled and exhaled in an effort to calm himself down; Hugo and Randy exchanged looks of confusion, "are you sure you're ready to hear this? This is something that isn't for the faint of heart, you know. We can always wait 'till supper, or a few days-"

"Al…"

"RoseandScorpiusMalfoyaregoingout."

"Come again?" Randy cupped a hand to his ear; Hugo still looked confused.

_Oh Merlin, please spare me… _"Rose, your sister, and Scorpius Malfoy, the bloke your dad's been hating even before he came into existence, are _together."_

WHAM! There were stars poking in and out of Albus' vision, and he heard a lot of cussing and strangled screaming. His head was throbbing uncontrollably and he had a hard time focusing on his cousins; maybe his glasses were broken?

Then everything went black.

--

Scorpius was pacing nervously in front of the fireplace in the Slytherin common room later that afternoon, his head swarming with different ways to approach Tatia. Holden, looking unimpressed as always, was sitting in one of the armchairs with a book of poems by Edgar Allan Poe in his hands.

"Thought of a good strategy yet?" Holden asked lazily, looking up from his book; Scorpius shushed him and resumed his pacing.

"Shut up, will you? I need to _think!_ It's been hours and I _still _haven't thought of anything-"

"It's only been fifteen minutes, Malfoy."

"Really?" Scorpius stopped to look at the ornate clock hanging over the mantle, "It feels like it's been hours." He continued pacing. Thankfully they were the only ones in the common room; everybody else was outside enjoying the nice weather, including Tatia. He figured that the sun would help her temporarily forget what she witnessed a few days ago.

"It's almost time for dinner - maybe she'll come storming back inside. That would be your chance to strike, don't you think?" Holden suggested. Scorpius turned to face his friend; he looked like he was going to leap towards him and scoop him up in a big bear hug. Holden raised a nervous eyebrow.

"You are a bloody _genius!" _Holden exhaled when Scorpius did not make any sudden movements, "I'll just wait until she comes back, and-"

"Oh, I think I hear her coming now." Voices were leaking in from the entrance, and Scorpius's pupils shrank.

"Already?" He squeaked, and he scrambled over to the doorway. A red-eyed Tatia _(How long can this girl cry? _He wondered) stepped into view, shielding her face with her fists.

"Tatia, I need to-"

"I have nothing to say to you, Scorpius Malfoy." She sniffled, and proceeded to walk to the girls' dormitories, but he stepped in her way once again.

"Please...it's important. I believe I have a lot of explaining to do." Scorpius tried his best to sound polite. Tatia lowered her hands and sighed exasperatingly, then grabbed his wrist and tugged him over to the fireplace; Holden was nowhere to be seen.

"What is it?" She was leaning against the fireplace, her arms crossed over her chest, making her bust look bigger than usual; Scorpius coughed and turned to face the opposite side of the room.

"I know you've seen some...things...a couple of days ago, and I understand that it's upset you quite a bit. I think I owe you an explanation."

"You bloody _well_ owe me an explanation! What on earth were you thinking, snogging _Rose Weasley, _out of all people? What was going through your bloody _head_ when you were doing it? Are you insane? Have you gone completely _MAD?" _Tatia was speaking so quickly it was nearly impossible to understand her. Scorpius stepped back and raised his hands in front of him.

"Look Tatia, you're a really nice girl, and there's no doubt about it - you're beautiful - one of the best looking in the school, but-"

"But _what, _Scorpius?" Her honey coloured eyes were brimming with tears now, and Scorpius forced the painful lump down his throat.

"Y'see...Rose and I are kind of...well, _together."_ Scorpius clamped his eyes shut and waited for the worst to pass, but when a minute ticked by and he did not feel any pain he slowly opened them, only to see a shocked Tatia Schultz gaping at him like a fish out of water.

"What. Did. You. Just. _Say?" _Her face was unreadable; Scorpius gulped and took another step back, only to collide with the wall, "You and _Weasley-"_

"Her name's Rose." Scorpius retorted; Tatia balled her hands into fists and exploded into a fit of cuss words and incoherent shrieks. The only thing he was able to make out from her angry rambling was "NO!", "OUT OF ALL PEOPLE,", "HOW COULD YOU?", "BLOODY HEAD GIRL", and "WHY DIDN'T I SEE THIS COMING?" All of the other Slytherins were wise enough to take shelter in their respective dormitories long ago, so Scorpius was the only one suffering.

_So _this_ is why you shouldn't make a Veela angry…_

Tatia seemed too immersed in her anger, so Scorpius took the chance to escape. He crept towards the stairs, up into the boys' dormitories, and closed the door behind him, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Nice set of pipes, she has." Holden smirked; he was sitting casually on his bed with his back against the headboard, his Edgar Allan Poe book still in hand. Scorpius pressed his palms against his ears as he approached his own bed.

"I think my ears are bleeding." He complained.

"This is worse than the time we had to deal with those nasty plant things in Herbology…" Princeton scratched his head, "What were those things called again…?"

"We're never going to eat dinner if she continues like this!" Porter cried; Scorpius shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. We just have to wait-" Suddenly, the horrendous shrieking came to an abrupt halt; everybody in the room stayed stock still.

"-'till it subsides." Scorpius finished in a low murmur; Holden shushed him and crept towards the door. He opened it a little, just enough to peek through with one eye, and surveyed the area. After a few seconds he closed it and gave the thumbs up to his dorm mates.

"She's gone, probably to either dinner or her dormitory. It's safe to go out now."

One by one the boys snuck out of their own common room, wary to any dark-haired girl with a green and silver tie. Porter suggested that Scorpius took the longer way to the Great Hall to induce the risk of getting caught; Scorpius was surprised that Porter had enough brains to think up of such a thing.

"So...you guys don't care that Rose and I…" Scorpius was unable to complete the sentence. Porter and Princeton shrugged their burly shoulders.

"A girl's a girl to me." Princeton replied casually; Holden and Scorpius exchanged confused looks.

"Alright, we'll meet you in the Great Hall then." Holden pushed Scorpius in the other direction; the blond waved them off and began walking.

He walked in silence, his hands shoved in his pockets; the hallway was always deserted at this time, since everybody was hungry and wanted to approach the food faster. He expected to be alone on his walk to the Great Hall, which was why he was surprised when he noticed somebody else taking the same route as him, just a few feet away. Though his back was turned to him, Scorpius did not miss the mound of black hair.

"Potter?" Scorpius jogged up to the boy and tapped his shoulder; he almost screamed when Albus turned to face him, his glasses shattered and his right eye swollen and purple.

"Bloody hell - what happened to you? And why are you taking the long way to the Great Hall?" Scorpius gasped; he pulled out his wand and quickly repaired Albus' glasses.

"Thanks," Albus adjusted his glasses before continuing, "I'm taking this way just in case Hugo and Randy see me; they kicked the snot out of me when I told them. Guess the bet's in your favour so far."

Scorpius suppressed a laugh. "Well I was taking this way because I was afraid Tatia was going to see me. Guess we're in a bit of a predicament, aren't we?"

Albus stayed silent for a minute, then lifted his head to face Scorpius. "Are you hungry?"

The blond shrugged. "Not really - after enduring a screaming fit from an angry part-Veela I don't think my stomach can handle much else. What about you?"

"To be honest my head's killing me more than my stomach is. What say we head up to the prefects' common room and wait for Rose to finish? I heard her say to Lisa that she was going there after dinner."

"Alright," Scorpius spun around to begin walking the other way, and Albus mimicked him, "and maybe we can do something about that eye. Hugo was the one that did that to you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, I think so - he was standing on my right before he hit me, so there's a good chance that it was him." Albus groaned in pain and rubbed his head, "Packed a real good one; I'm going to be feeling this for days."

"Rose doesn't know?"

"She'll find out tonight." Albus smirked, "Y'know, you really aren't as bad as my family said you are. Maybe this whole prejudice thing Rose was rambling on about is actually true."

Scorpius broke out in laughter. "At least you're finally breaking through. I just hope everyone else in your crazy family will be able to do the same."

"Well, we'll find out tonight won't we? Rose probably already talked to them."

"We still have your aunts, your uncles, your older cousins and of course, your brother. I don't see how James can upstage a punch to the eye, though." They approached the room with the shifting staircases and waited for the right one to rotate in their direction. Albus shrugged and gave Scorpius a furtive look.

"You'll be surprised at the things my brother is capable of doing." He muttered.

--

It had been a long dinner; Rose spent most of it avoiding Lily, who still seemed to be in a rotten mood. Everybody else had gotten over the whole 'Rose is going out with Scorpius' thing and resumed their normal ways. She was actually taken back when everybody (except Lily of course) confessed that they secretly sort of fancied the mistreated Slytherin, but then again who could not resist those looks of his? And that crooked smile…

Rose pushed the door to the prefects' common room open, only to see an exhausted Albus sitting by the fire with a dark bruise around his eye. Scorpius was sitting in the chair next to his, chatting with him; now she knew why she did not see either of them at dinner. Rose immediately rushed to her cousin's side and knelt by him to examine his injury.

"Merlin, what happened to you?" She held her cousin's jaw with her thumb and index finger and turned his head at odd angles to get a better look at his eye, "Who did this to you?"

"Your brother, Hugo." Albus muttered; Scorpius snickered as Rose gaped in horror.

"You told him, didn't you?" Rose's voice was barely a whisper; Albus nodded slowly.

"Well, we were supposed to tell, weren't we?"

"Yes, but I didn't think his reaction would be _that_ bad!" She brandished her wand and pointed it at her cousin's face, uttering a short spell. The nasty purple colour instantly faded into Albus' normal skin tone, and the swelling died down. Albus reached upwards to touch his eye but Rose slapped his hand away.

"It's only a concealment spell, I didn't heal anything. Mum told me it was better to let the bruise heal naturally." She admitted; Scorpius threw his head back and laughed even harder.

"You mean he's wearing _makeup? _Like a _girl? _Oh, this is rich!" He barked; Albus flushed and his shoulders slumped.

"It's not like I'm wearing anything sparkly or colourful, Malfoy." He retorted pathetically. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. How did Tatia take it?" She moved to sit beside Albus on the couch. Scorpius shrugged his shoulders, seemingly indifferent.

"Not too well, naturally. She practically blew up in front of me, but I was able to hide before it got any worse. I take it she won't be talking to me ever again." Rose opened her mouth to apologize, but he quickly shook his head, "There's no need to say sorry; I'm actually relieved that I've severed ties with her. She's completely _mad_, I'm telling you. Anyway, how did you do?"

"Surprisingly well, actually," Rose smiled, but then she remembered Lily and her mood instantly soured, "except for Lily. She hasn't really spoken to me yet, but when I explained everything she looked pretty angry."

"Lily's like that. Just give her time to adjust to things, but don't bother her in the meantime, or she'll explode. Trust me, she can be worse than Tatia, and that's really saying something." Albus explained. Rose sighed and leaned back against the couch; Scorpius stared wistfully into the fire.

"So...what do we do now?" Albus asked, after a few moments of silence. Scorpius shrugged and turned away from the fire to face his new friend.

"Don't we have to tell our parents?" He asked slowly, unsure of their reactions.

"Would it be wise to tell them in advance, or wait 'till graduation?" Rose asked, but it sounded like she was talking to herself. Albus and Scorpius glanced at each other and shook their heads, uncertain of what to do, or say. The three friends turned towards the fire and meddled in their own thoughts and worries, wondering what to do next. Sometimes one of them would look up, thinking that they had come up with a strategy, but then they would only look down again and resume staring into the fire in an awkward silence, realizing that there was a fault to their plan. The evening continued on without any of them saying a word.

What were they going to do now?


	26. Just My Luck

_A/N: Okay I'm a little slow on this but - WOW, 200+ reviews? Thank you thank you! You guys are amazing for putting up with me for so long! Haha._

_Oh, and sorry I took so long to update - I was trying to think up of a good plot for this chapter, and I've been replaying Twilight Princess (LoZ ftw!) for the 38294294th time, so I admit to getting a little side-tracked. Sorry.  
_

_--_

**Just My Luck**

"This place sends cold chills down my spine, Harry." Ron muttered, rubbing his arms absently.

"Why did you ask me to come with you, Dad? You know I swore an oath never to come here ever again…" James complained. Harry rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder to face his oldest son and best friend.

"Come off it, the both of you! You're acting like kids, for Merlin's sake! It's not like we're facing off Voldemort or anything."

"But this is worse," Ron groaned, "we're going back to _school."_

Harry rolled his eyes again as they entered the main doors of Hogwarts. Students that passed them by instantly recognized them (mostly Harry and Ron; James did not mind that he was being partially ignored) and stopped for a bit to say hello. Harry had another guest lecture today and he figured Ron needed some fresh air after being stuck underground in the Auror Department for so long, and as a requirement for Auror training James needed a few hours of job shadowing, so Harry thought it would be an experience bringing his son along with him.

"It's not like you'll be the one learning anything, Ron - and James, you need hours for your training, so you really don't have a choice." Harry reminded the both of them. James sighed and rumpled the back of his hair.

"Why couldn't I just tag along with Uncle Ron? We could've done something much cooler than this-"

"Yeah, like filing paperwork and reading boring documents for five hours at a time. Sounds plenty exciting, doesn't it?" Ron mumbled sarcastically; ever since Voldemort's defeat there has not been enough evil to go around.

"Sounds better than coming back here, I suppose." James muttered under his breath. After turning through numerous corridors they stopped in front of a single wooden door. Harry pushed it open to reveal a wide, empty classroom with long windows and a few rows of desks at the far back. Ron snickered and scrambled over to one of the desks in the first row; he began jumping up and down in his seat with his hand stuck up in the air.

"So Professor Potter," He said in a mocking high-pitched voice, "what will we be learning today?"

"Since NEWTs is in a little more than a week or so, there's really nothing new," Harry explained as he unlocked his briefcase on the teacher's desk, "it's going to be mostly review - but I'm going to be doing it _my_ way, of course."

"Which means the students will be out of their seats and hexing each other 'till they explode?" James asked casually; his father nodded and grinned.

"Exactly." Harry nodded towards the desks, "Can you push all of those desks along the wall? I need to write a few things on the blackboard here."

James brandished his wand and Ron leapt out of the way, but Harry immediately strode over to his son's side and snatched the wand out of his hands.

"Manually." Harry ordered, and James' face fell, "There's always some kind of disaster whenever you try to clean up something with magic, and I don't want to risk that here."

Ron laughed and plucked his own wand from his pockets, but then Harry interrupted him.

"That means you too, Ron!" Harry then added in a much lower voice, "Where's Hermione when you need her…?"

--

"Your dad's teaching again!" Rose exclaimed as her, Scorpius and Albus made their way towards their DADA class. Albus groaned in agony and slapped a hand to his forehead.

_"Please_ don't remind me, Rosie." He cried as he pushed the door open, but when he had one foot in the room he immediately pulled backwards and shut the door to a close. Scorpius and Rose exchanged looks of confusion.

"Er, something the matter?" Scorpius asked, placing a hand on Albus' shoulder. Albus turned around slowly and Rose and Scorpius saw that his eyes were wide (though his right eye was slightly smaller due to his concealed bruise) with fear.

"That afraid of your old man, eh Potter?" Scorpius chortled, and pressed his palm against the door to open it, but Albus shook his head and smacked his hand away. Rose raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" She asked a little impatiently, her foot tapping rhythmically against the stone floor. Albus pushed his two friends away from the door and towards a corner at the end of the hallway.

"I saw James in there with him," Albus gulped; Scorpius' face paled and Rose looked indifferent, "and your dad, Rosie."

This time Rose let out a little squeal or terror, and her face was even paler than Scorpius' and Albus' combined. She shook off her uneasiness though, and straightened up, smoothing her skirt.

"Well…" She sounded a little unsure at first but her voice picked up later on, "as long as we aren't seen _together_ then they won't suspect anything, wouldn't they?"

Albus and Scorpius 'ah-ed' and their skin tones returned to normal.

"Okay, I'll wait here for Zabini and the others. You two go on ahead." He leaned casually against the wall with his arms crossed and his bangs falling over his eyes; Rose felt her cheeks rise in temperature at the sight of him and she hurriedly stepped into the classroom. Albus gave Scorpius one single nod before joining her. Scorpius waited patiently for his Slytherin friends - there seemed to be some kind of 'Slytherins-always-arrive-fashionably-late' code with the house, so he was not surprised when he spotted Holden and the others arriving just minutes before class was supposed to start.

"Alone today, are we?" Holden asked teasingly, smirking. Scorpius rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb towards the classroom.

"You'll find out why." He muttered as he pushed the door open; the class was already bunched up in a medium-sized huddle in the centre of the classroom. Harry and a tall, red-headed man stood at the head of the group, both smiling. A much younger man that looked a lot like Albus and Harry without glasses was leaning against the professor's desk, a grudging look on his features. His chocolate brown eyes found Scorpius' grey ones, and the Slytherin ducked out of view and tried to blend with the crowd.

"Oh." Holden was staring at Ron.

"Hello everyone," Harry's bright green eyes seemed to be combing through the crowd, or maybe Scorpius was just being paranoid, "I trust you're all ready for NEWTs? They're not too far along now."

The students responded with a despondent groan; Scorpius heard James Potter snicker from the professor's desk.

"Lucky for you lot Harry's here to give you some review," Ron grinned, "and James and I are here to help him out."

"Where's your mum and sister, Al?" Thomas Finnigan's voice emerged from the group of students, and everyone laughed. Albus' cheeks flushed a violent shade of scarlet and he tugged at his collar uncomfortably. Harry motioned for everyone to settle down, and then he went through a run-down of what he was going to be reviewing today.

"Are you sure you're okay, mate? You look ill." One of Holden's eyebrows was arched upwards; Scorpius nodded quickly and scratched the back of his neck.

"Y-yeah...just hate crowds - not enough space for yourself, y'know?" He mumbled distractedly. Holden rolled his eyes and reverted his attention to Harry.

"Alright, time to review our basics - hopefully all of you remember them! Let's start off easy...hmm…what about the simple disarming spell, _Expelliarmus?" _When the class laughed at the basic spell, Harry chuckled quietly and shook his head. "I know, I know, it's all first-year stuff, but this _is_ going to be on the exam, and if you don't do it right it will cost you a few easy marks! Let's get two lovely volunteers to come up and show us how it's done, eh?"

Of course, everybody was too shy to come up and demonstrate their skills to the great Harry Potter - except Rose Weasley. Ron beamed proudly as Harry beckoned Rose towards him; the bronze-haired Gryffindor gave her favourite uncle a smile as she reached inside her robes to take out her wand. Harry turned back towards the small crowd of students, eyeing for another 'volunteer'.

"Oh c'mon, it's not like I'm grading you or anything-"

"Scorpius, why don't you come up and show us what you can do?" Ron's voice piped up from behind; Rose's head snapped towards her father and her eyes narrowed. Ron was sneering into the crowd, directly where Scorpius was standing. The students cleared out of the way so that Scorpius stood by himself in the midst of the crowd; his eyes were wide with shock and his knees looked like they were even trembling a little bit. Albus helped the poor boy by pushing him forward.

"C'mon now," Ron's voice was so sickly sweet it made Rose's stomach turn, "don't be shy."

Scorpius staggered to the front of the class, just a few metres away from where Rose was standing; he felt Ron and James' eyes on him, studying his every movement. He wondered why they were being so watchful - did they know anything…?

"Wands at the ready?" Harry stood between them, glancing back and forth between the two to make sure they were armed properly. Rose's expression did not look more relaxed than Scorpius'; in fact she looked even more alarmed than he was.

_Make sure she wins, _his conscience instructed him. His eyes flitted over to Ron, who was glowering at him, and he clamped his eyes shut.

"Alright, ready?" Harry's voice interrupted his thoughts; Scorpius and Rose turned on their backs and took three steps forward. "One...two...three!"

_"Expelliarmus!" _Scorpius had pointed his wand in Rose's direction and mouthed out the incantation, but he did not actually _say_ the spell - he even scrunched his face in concentration so it looked like he was trying. Rose, on the other hand, actually performed the spell, and since she was amazing at everything the disarming spell hit Scorpius full force, flinging him backwards and sending him spiraling towards the hard stone wall.

There were stars flickering in and out of Scorpius' eyes; he was sitting against the wall, his clothes and hair even more crumpled than it usually was; his tie somehow swung backwards on his collar during his trip in the air and it flopped over his head and dangled in between his eyes. Rose was standing exactly where she was before their 'duel', her wand by her feet and her hands cupped over her mouth. Her dark blue eyes were wide with shock. Ron, on the other hand, was on the verge of collapsing - the strained expression he was wearing obviously meant that he was restraining his own laughter, and his eyes were glazed over with tears; James looked no different.

"Wow…" Harry rushed over to Scorpius' side and pulled him back on his feet, "that was brilliant, Rose. Are you okay, Scorpius?"

"Uh huh," Scorpius was nodding dumbly, still trying to blink the stars away. The class was not even laughing; they were all staring at Rose with wide eyes and slack jaws, with the exception of Albus and Holden of course, who looked like they were expecting it to happen.

"I think you better sit down for the remainder of the class." Harry helped the bedraggled Slytherin into a nearby chair. When he was certain that Scorpius was able to sit on his own, he hurried back to the front of the class and hastily continued the lesson. Rose shuffled back into the crowd, keeping her distance from Scorpius but maintaining enough proximity to keep a careful eye on him.

The rest of the class progressed smoothly, and Harry informed everyone that he was going to be teaching the class again the day before exams started. Everyone dispersed quickly; Scorpius stumbled ungracefully out of the class with one hand skimming against the wall for support. When he was far enough from the classroom Albus, Rose and Holden jogged up to him.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have hit you so hard-" Rose's voice was hysterical, "do you need to go to the hospital wing? Are you feeling dizzy at all?"

"'M fine," Scorpius mumbled as his friends led him into an unused classroom; he plopped down on the nearest available chair, "just a bit...discombobulated, that's all."

_"Discombobulated? _Who uses that word, seriously?" Albus snorted; Holden laughed and crossed his arms.

"Well as long as you're not dying or anything." He shouldered his back and headed towards the door, "I'd love to say and chat but I've got one more class to attend to. I'll see you later, Malfoy."

"Oh bloody hell, that reminds me-" Albus grabbed his bag and hoisted it over his own shoulder, "-got Quidditch practice tonight. Hope you'll feel better soon, Malfoy!" He darted out of the room. Rose cringed and turned back towards Scorpius, who was still trying to blink the stars out of his sight.

"Quite a turn of events." His voice was dripping with sarcasm, and Rose could not help but giggle. "Your dad absolutely _loves_ me."

Rose knelt down in front of him and took his hands in hers. "I have to apologize for that - my dad's insane, you see."

"You really did splendid on that disarm though," He flexed his arm to remove the kinks, "you would've given Voldemort a run for his money." He took her face in his hands and pulled her to him; she moved to sit on his lap and wound her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair.

Unbeknownst to them, there were footsteps down the hallway…

--

"I'll have to admit, that was kinda fun." James grinned; Harry grinned back.

"See, told you you'd like it."

"Thanks to Uncle Ron, I had a _blast." _James doubled over in laughter and Ron joined in.

"That wasn't smart, Ron. He could've been seriously hurt." Harry said solemnly; Ron stopped laughing immediately.

"Oh c'mon Harry, since when did _you_ care about any member of the Malfoy family?"

"Since one of them became my students." The three of them continued their walk in silence, only stopping suddenly when James held a hand up in the air.

"D'you hear that?" He scrunched his brow in concentration. "Something's skittering about somewhere close by."

"You sound a lot like Filch, son." Harry joked, watching James flit to nearby classroom doors. The former Gryffindor opened the doors by just a crack so he could take a peek inside; after realizing that there was nobody in the classroom he would step back and shake his head in disappointment.

"You're just being paranoid, mate. There's nobody around here." Ron reassured him, though his voice sounded a little on edge.

"Shh-" James beckoned his father and uncle over to the door he was currently standing in front of. "I think it's this one-" It was empty again and he cursed under his breath. Harry sighed and lightly pushed him forward with his hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe you're just hungry." He muttered.

--

Scorpius poked his head out from the corner, just to see Harry, James and Ron talking briefly in front of the classroom he and Rose were in just minutes earlier. Rose had heard their shuffling, and they managed to escape unnoticed. They were too squeamish to reveal anything yet, and especially with Ron's behaviour earlier they ultimately decided to put it off for as long as time allowed them.

"What are we going to do? Now your bloody cousin's suspicions are aroused!" Scorpius hissed. Rose shrugged her shoulders and ducked her head under Scorpius' to look for herself - they were gone. Deciding that it was safe, she stepped out cautiously with Scorpius following her.

"I don't know, but we can't do this forever. It's already proving to be too much of a burden." She murmured, her eyes cast to her shoes. Scorpius reached for her hand and led her down the narrow hallway.

"C'mon, we should be making our way upstairs - that cousin of yours can assume anything." He felt Rose's grip tighten by the slightest and she quickened her pace to match with his. They walked in silence, both swimming in their own individual thoughts.

"HAH!" Screeched a voice the moment the both of them turned a corner; in a flash Scorpius' hand was wrenched from Rose's and he found himself suspended in mid-air, upside down and squirming uncomfortably.

"I _knew_ it," James Potter growled maliciously, "I knew there was something going on - I was certain I didn't hear your voice during that duel..." He stepped closer to Scorpius, who was staring wide-eyed at his captor. Rose rolled her eyes and stepped in between them.

_"Sod off_, James! He doesn't deserve this!" She said loudly, but not loud enough so that she would draw attention. James shook his head and laughed, his wand still pointed in poor Scorpius' direction. The blond was beginning to feel faint as the blood began to rush to his head.

"You think you can just waltz into this school and take any girl you want, hm? You Malfoys all think alike! Well guess what, _Scorpius-" _James spat out his name as if it were poisonous, "-you undeserving, pompous, thickheaded-"

"He's not like that!" Rose pleaded, "He's different from his father and grandfather!"

"I swear I mean no harm," Scorpius mumbled pathetically. James wagged his wand dangerously.

"Oh really? Well, what if I do this?" He flicked his wand once and Scorpius' belt unbuckled itself; his pants magically rolled upwards to his ankles as if they had fallen down. Scorpius clamped his eyes shut as he rotated slowly in the air, his white boxers with little wizard hats dotted on them exposed to his girlfriend _and_ her cousin. Rose's eyes widened and she immediately turned away, flushing in embarrassment as James howled with laughter. Scorpius was glad this hallway was nearly empty...

"What is going on here?" Harry stomped into view, with - both Scorpius and Rose gulped - Ron trailing behind him. When Ron caught sight of the unfortunate Slytherin hanging by his ankles in mid-air with his pants 'down' he stifled a laugh, but immediately regained his seriousness. Harry glared at his oldest son.

"James, let him down." He commanded, and his son obliged; Scorpius crumpled onto the stone floor in a heap, and he immediately pulled his pants back on and clamped his belt shut. He stood up, his cheeks flaring hot, and leaned against the wall, desperately wishing he could sink into it and disappear forever.

"Now what would have sweet little Scorpius done to egg James on like that?" Ron asked in that falsely innocent voice again; James swerved over to Rose, only to see her staring back with an almost desperate look in her eyes. Her expression tugged at his heartstrings and he hesitated, his brown eyes focusing on his shoes.

"Er," He started, and Ron and Harry leaned in closer to hear him better, "I was…" He trailed off, his voice uncertain. Scorpius and Rose exchanged looks of confusion.

"Well c'mon now, spit it out! What made you _hex_ the poor boy?" Harry demanded. Scorpius could not help but smirk; James was nearly a grown man and he was still getting berated by his father.

"I was being stupid." James muttered, and Harry frowned.

"Now _that's_ something I never heard before. You were definitely doing something stupid, James." He turned to face Scorpius and gave him a sad smile. "I'm so sorry, Scorpius."

Scorpius opened his mouth to reply but James intervened. He stepped in front of him and shook his head. "I should be the one apologizing." But he added in a voice low enough so that only Scorpius could hear, "Prefects' common room, _straight_ after dinner. You two are going to explain _everything."_

Scorpius gave him a nervous smile. "Er, it's alright. I guess I should be used to this by now." James smirked and stepped away from him.

"I'll be seeing you during dinner, Rosie." Ron leaned in to give his daughter a peck on the forehead, and moved to follow Harry and James, who were already walking away.

"You're going to tell me the _truth,_ whether you like it or not." Scorpius heard Harry's scathing voice as they walked farther away from them.

"What did he tell you?" Rose was tugging on his sleeve; Scorpius turned to face her immediately.

"He said that he wants us to explain everything," He replied shakily, "and that he's going to meet us in the prefects' common room after dinner."

Rose sighed and pulled her fingers through her hair. "I suppose I'll tell Albus to come with us too. Maybe he can calm his own brother down."

Scorpius nodded, still feeling a little uneasy. "I hope so." He took Rose's hand in his and resumed their walk out of the dungeons.

_Potter's _definitely_ won this bet._

--

Dinner was as ordinary as it was supposed to be, except for the fact that Scorpius' lingering paranoia caused him to think that somebody was constantly watching him - his suspicions were confirmed when he snuck a quick glance at the professor's table, only to see James glaring daggers at him as he bit into his roast chicken.

Meanwhile, Rose had informed Albus of what had happened earlier, and he nearly choked on his food from laughing so hard.

"Why did I have to go to practice? I would've done _anything_ to see that!" Albus still could not believe Rose's explanation as he walked with her and Scorpius to the prefects' common room later that evening. Scorpius was silent, his hands in his pockets and his gaze cast to the floor, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He reached out of his pocket and pressed the promised five Knuts into Albus' awaiting hand.

"What's that for?" Rose asked suspiciously, but both boys shook their heads. Confused, she pushed the door to the common room open to find James waiting patiently by the fire, his arm resting against the mantle.

"Just in time." He smiled serenely, and gestured towards the couch. The three moved to sit down, with Rose in the middle, while James walked over to the armchair.

"So, care to explain?" He asked, and Rose sighed. She went on about the whole star-cross'd lovers thing and how everything added up, and then Scorpius explained about his detachment from his family. Albus explained about how he found out (James' eyes widened in horror while Rose and Scorpius blushed in humiliation) and how he tried to explain it to Rose's brothers, only to get punched in the face instead.

"You're wearing _makeup?"_ James burst out in laughter, and Albus groaned; Scorpius stifled his own laugh. Rose rolled her eyes.

"I'm afraid I have something to confess," James said once he calmed down, "Dad managed to squeeze the truth out of me. I told him that I saw you two holding hands - he has his way of getting it out of you, y'know."

Rose gasped and Scorpius cursed under his breath, but James shook his head. "He said that he wasn't going to tell your dad, Rosie, so you don't have to worry about that - he seems to be completely fine with the whole thing."

"But what about you?" Rose asked quietly, and James took a few seconds to ponder his cousin's question.

"Well, I can't say that I don't _like_ the idea of it, but there's nothing I can do, can I?" James' expression softened a little and Rose and Scorpius relaxed, "And if you're not as bad as you seem to be, Malfoy, then I guess you're not too bad for my cousin either." He grinned, and Scorpius smirked back.

"Though, Rose," James turned to face his cousin, "I do advise you to tell your mum about it. She'll have a levelheaded reaction in comparison to your dad, at least, and you can't hide this forever, though so far you've done a fairly decent job."

Rose nodded and kept a mental note to visit the owlery later. "Thanks, James."

"Well that settles that," Albus rose from his seat and stretched. Rose nodded and got up as well, along with Scorpius, and then James. They moved towards the exit, with Rose and Albus leaving first. Just as soon as Scorpius was about to step outside, he felt a firm hand on his upper arm. He forced the lump down his throat and turned around slowly, his life flashing before his eyes.

He knew this was going to happen - James was just waiting for the opportunity to strike, and this was it…

"There's one more thing." The older Potter said, and Scorpius stared straight at him - though James was older they were nearly exactly the same height.

"Y-yes?" The Slytherin stuttered; James smirked deviously.

"I just want you to know that that hex I put you in earlier will look like _nothing_ compared to what I'll do to you if you hurt Rose."

The threat was genuine; Scorpius could hear it in his tone. The blond nodded once and bolted straight out the door, leaving James to laugh triumphantly to himself.


	27. Some Things Never Change

_A/N: Midterms, midterms, midterms...got a couple more next week and then I'll be back on track! ...Hopefully._

_I feel like this story's coming to an end - I give it at least...hmm...2-3 more chapters? Guess we'll have to wait and see..._

_PS: chewing-gum-addicted, of course you can have James. I don't own him, sadly, but I'd really love to. Haha._

_--_

**Some Things Never Change**

"Oh my," Hermione had a hand over her breast; the other was clutching Rose's letter. Ginny looked up from her cup of tea.

"Still gawking over it, are you?" Ginny laughed; Hermione moved to sit across from her sister-in-law and flattened the parchment on the table. Ginny reached for the letter and scanned it thoroughly for the third time that evening:

_Dear Mum,_

_ NEWTs are almost here and I think I'm prepared for it (though perhaps a little more studying won't hurt), but unfortunately I'm not writing to you to complain about exams._

_I've sort of been hiding something from you and the rest of the family for a few months now, and when I tell you what it is you'll understand why I've been so secretive about it._

_You see, Scorpius Malfoy and I have been together for a few months now, and when I mean _together_ I'm referring to the terms of boyfriend and girlfriend._

Ginny paused for a minute to laugh. "I absolutely _love_ that line." She then bent her head over the letter and continued reading.

_I hope that hasn't sent you into cardiac arrest - actually I'd be expecting that kind of reaction from Dad instead of you. Mostly everybody knows now (can you please tell Aunt Ginny for me? I don't want to leave her out of it) - I managed to tell Mandy, Jane, Roxanne, Dominique, Lisa and Lily, but unfortunately Lily's the only one who doesn't agree with it. Al went to explain the situation to Hugo and Randy, only to get punched in the face instead._

"Poor Albus," Hermione groaned, her face buried in her hands, "those boys are _just_ like their father."

_The only one who's oblivious to everything is - you've guessed it - Dad. I can't think of a reasonable way to approach him without having him unleash his wrath on Scorpius - I don't understand the co-existence between men and violence. Just the other day, when James found out, he performed _Levicorpus_ on Scorpius and magically unfastened his pants! So immature._

Ginny stifled a giggle and Hermione could not help but chortle as well.

"Some things never change." Hermione sighed.

_Scorpius has yet to tell his parents either, knowing that they - his father more specifically - will have just as a bad reaction as Dad's will. At this point I've run out of ideas._ _Please don't tell Dad about any of this; I want to explain myself - that is, if I can figure out a way to do it._

_It's almost time for patrol, so I'm going to have to close this letter. I'll write to you again during exams. I'm so sorry for not telling you this earlier, but now I'm relieved that I finally got around to it. Hope to hear from you soon._

_Love always,_

_ Rose_

"Ron will absolutely _explode_ when he finds out about this." Ginny waved the letter in her hands; Hermione nodded slowly and reached for her cup of tea.

"I'm really getting tired of his prejudice. I've always had a hunch Scorpius wasn't as bad as Ron thought he was, and now I have proof."

"Scorpius can have a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead and a knack for kicking evil wizard's arses and Ron will _still_ think he's the worst kid to have ever come to existence." Ginny agreed. Hermione pulled her fingers through her hair and rapped the table once with her wand; a quill, ink bottle and a roll of parchment conjured out of thin air. She scratched her chin with the end of her quill, thinking of a way to open her letter.

"You're not bothered by any of this, are you?" Ginny asked uncertainly; Hermione shook her head as she dipped her quill into the ink bottle.

"No, of course not - Rose would never go out with a boy with less than admirable qualities, and I trust her decisions. I'm just worried about how Ron will react...and Draco, too." Hermione frowned; she began to scribble her introduction on the piece of parchment. Icarus hooted softly in the background; he was sitting on the windowsill hovering over the sink. Ginny strode over to him and stroked his feathers.

"Hopefully there won't be any casualties." She smirked, and a hint of a smile tugged at Hermione's lips.

--

"This is harassment." Rose muttered in aggravation.

It was breakfast time in the Great Hall, and the owls had just arrived to deliver the morning mail. It had only been two days since Harry Potter's guest lecture (and the unfortunate James-Scorpius incident) and already her older cousin had written her a letter, demanding her to explain if Scorpius had done anything 'harmful'.

"He's teetering on the edge of sanity. Give him a break." Albus replied casually before shoving half a piece of toast into his mouth. Hugo rolled his eyes.

"I would've done the same." He said grumpily, and Rose glared at him.

"At least James has _accepted_ it - that makes him just a little more sane than you." She muttered. Randy had learned to accept it after some time; he figured that a Quidditch player as good as Scorpius was worthy enough of dating his oldest sister. Hugo, however, tended to hold longer grudges. Lily was no different; she sat the furthest away from her family and friends, angrily picking at her oatmeal in silence. Jane had tried to talk some sense into her but she did not budge; Albus assured her that his sister just needed some time to sort things out.

"Hm, looks like Mum got back to me." Rose ripped open another envelope and unfurled the parchment; she read it quickly and smiled. "She seems to be okay with it too - and Aunt Ginny!"

"See, this isn't so bad." Albus grinned; Randy chuckled and popped an orange slice into his mouth.

"But she's saved the best for last, remember? She's yet to tackle Dad with this one."

The thought of explaining everything to her father made Rose's insides turn cold. "Don't remind me - I've been thinking about it so much lately, I haven't been concentrating on studying-"

"You've been studying for those exams ever since you found out you were bloody enrolled in this school, Rosie, so there's nothing to worry about. You're going to ace those tests like it was nothing." Albus cut in, and Rose sighed in defeat. She had been playing the 'I-have-to-study-for-NEWTs' card far too many times.

"Give her a break, Al - we all know that when our dad finds out there's going to be chaos, so Rose is trying to devise a way in which his wrath will be the least...painful." Jane scolded.

"He's going to go nuts when he finds out that he's the _last_ one in the family to know." Randy added, which did not help much with Rose's swelling anxiety.

"I know...ugh," She shook her head and continued to pick at her food. "but I don't know how to tell him without having him go completely mad."

"I don't think there's any other way." Albus shrugged.

Rose sighed again and popped a small forkful of eggs into her mouth. "I can't put this off forever…"

--

It was a dull day in the Auror Department; James was slumping over his desk, his eyes struggling to stay open. The fringes of his wispy black hair swayed slightly as he moved to rest his head in his arms; he was beginning to think that his decision to become an Auror was a big mistake.

"All right there, James?" The young man swiveled around in his seat to face his favourite uncle.

"Just brilliant." James muttered miserably, rumpling his hair with his hands.

Ron chuckled and leaned against the side of James' desk. "I know you're reluctant to leave, but it's time for lunch. Your dad's waiting for us upstairs."

Happy to have an excuse to use his legs, James rose from his seat, shaking out the aches in his joints from being immobile for so long. He followed Ron and the floating paper airplanes towards the elevator, which was packed as usual.

"Oh, hey guys," James and Ron's heads turned to face Hermione, was was wedged in between a very tall and twig-like man and a very short, stout man, "heading out for lunch?"

"Yep," Ron beamed, "Harry's meeting us upstairs. care to join?"

"I'd love to, really, but I'm afraid I've got to stay in a little longer to file in a few things," Hermione nodded towards the stack of manilla folders in her arms, "but have fun!"

Hermione's floor arrived and she managed a small wave without dropping her folders before walking out with one or two people. When the twosome finally reached the top, they found that Harry was not standing too far away.

"Hey son," Harry moved to clap James on the back, "working hard?"

"You know it, Dad." James smirked; Ron laughed and led the way to a vacant fireplace.

"So where to?" The redhead asked, dipping his hand into a pot full of Floo Powder, "Any cravings yet to be fulfilled?"

"If you don't mind, can we stop by my place first? I forgot to grab some Muggle money this morning." Harry admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Ron shrugged and stepped into the fireplace.

"Meet you there, then." He shouted Harry's address and dropped the Floo Powder; in a whisk of green flames he was gone. James moved to grab his own fistful of Floo Powder but his father's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You are not to say a-" James cut him off with a short laugh.

"I know, Dad - how many times do you have to tell me?" He shook his head, but Harry still looked unconvinced.

"Rose wants to tell him herself. We can't even drop hints." He pushed his son forward. "Go on, then."

James rolled his eyes and marched into the fireplace, Floo Powder spilling out from his fist. When he was gone, Harry sighed and went in to do the same.

--

Class was exceptionally difficult today for some reason.

They were not learning anything new, but it was hard to pay attention to what the professor was saying.

Wait, what class was this again?

Scorpius' eyes fumbled over his parchment; he squinted at the title he scrawled at the top - oh right, he was making notes. It was a study period, he remembered now...sort of. He took a quick look around the room and realized that he was in a small classroom; the sun shot warm sunlight through the windows, lying in golden pools on the stony floors. Besides the hushed conversation, it was very quiet. He looked to his left and right and found Porter and Holden sitting there. When he looked straight ahead, he found out that he was staring at another table just a few metres away.

Albus Potter, Thomas Finnigan, Lisa Longbottom, and Rose sat at that table, their heads bent over their rolls of parchment. It was kind of surprising to see Albus so concentrated, Scorpius mused, and he did not know that Finnigan was intelligent enough to actually _write_ - he always looked like a dullard to him. He noticed that underneath the table, Lisa and Albus' fingers were laced together, and his heart leapt to his throat.

Then, his eyes found themselves on Rose.

The sun streaked her hair and illuminated her eyes; her brow was furrowed and she was frowning as she flipped through the pages of her thick textbook. Every now and then she would raise a small pale hand to brush a stray lock of bronze hair. Sometimes Albus would reach across the table to poke her in the arm, probably to ask her some kind of stupid question; Scorpius figured Albus' questions were stupid because one of Rose's eyebrows always arched upward whenever he was talking to her.

"Oi," Holden hissed, "Slughorn's looking this way."

Oh, right - he was supposed to be studying, or writing, or whatever.

The room seemed to be encased in a warm haze - Scorpius did not know if he was the only one who was feeling it or not, but he refrained from asking Holden or anybody else in case he was. He slid a hand through his hair and attempted again on focusing on the blank roll of parchment that was staring up at him, but it was no use.

His eyes glanced upward towards the table in front of him once more, and he noticed that Rose had already finished whatever she was doing; she rose from her seat with her notebook in hand and walked towards Slughorn, who was drifting over to Scorpius' table. The elderly man gave Rose a kind smile as she turned in her notebook.

"I'll be expecting nothing but the best from you on your exam next week, Miss Weasley." He heard Slughorn whisper; Rose flashed him a grin before waltzing out of the room.

The sight of her smile brought both a fluttering and a stabbing sensation to Scorpius' insides, and his fists clenched tight in reaction.

He vaguely remembered talking to her before this class started, and he remembered her telling him to meet her by the beech tree when he was finished. She wanted to spend some time with him, and though he wanted nothing more than to do just that, he dreaded it at the same time.

His mind flashed back to memories of James Potter, and he shook them away.

_Her dad's the only one left, you know._

Don't forget his _own_ dad.

_Ohh, this is going to be entertaining - their reactions will definitely be the best._

An involuntary chill coursed up and down Scorpius' spine as he forced himself to open his textbook. He glanced at Holden's paper to get an idea of what exactly he was supposed to be writing about, and when he was certain he grasped at least the basics he flipped to a random page.

_When they find out, what will happen to you?_

Nothing, nothing - everything will be alright.

_Her dad will go berserk. Your father will think you're possessed._

No. Everything will be alright.

_What will happen to her? Her family?  
_

Nothing. She is going to be fine.

_You know your dad better than that. You know that he can whisk away jobs and ruin reputations with a snap of his fingers; you know he's capable of getting what he wants. Confound the fact that her uncle's the famous Harry Potter - he'll work around it; you know he will.  
_

Scorpius had pressed on the parchment so hard with his quill that he had stabbed a hole through it. Holden was the only one that noticed and turned to give him a skeptical look; the blond shook his head and waved him off.

She is going to be fine.

It seemed like years before he finished whatever it was that he was supposed to finish; he rose on shaky legs and staggered over to Slughorn, passing him his paper. There were words coming out of the old man's mouth but they were hard to understand, like he was speaking in another language; Scorpius nodded dumbly and slapped on a grin before stumbling out of the room.

Everything will be alright.

--

The threesome had ultimately decided on seafood. They chose a quaint little restaurant somewhere in the heart of London, with a small patio for outdoor eating.

"Ugh, everything looks so good," Ron complained as he scoured the menu, "I want to order everything."

That was the first non-Rose-related thing he had said to Harry and James since they left the Potter house; Ron had been going on nonstop about how he was absolutely _sure_ that his daughter was going to get perfect - or at least very close - on her NEWTs, and more importantly, a higher mark than Scorpius Malfoy.

"I'm not surprised if you did," Harry laughed, though it sounded a little nervous, "and I'd still be unsurprised if you finished everything too. You can best Grawp in an eating contest."

James joined in with a nervous little chortle of his own; Ron rolled his eyes and went on about how he did not have an appetite comparable to Grawp and Harry laughed along. The tension was relieved by just a fragment.

Then, of course, fate had to turn things back around.

Ron's eyes narrowed unexpectedly and he began muttering a string of insults under his breath; James and Harry exchanged looks of confusion. The younger Potter glanced over his shoulder to see who Ron was glaring at, and his chocolate brown orbs widened in shock.

Draco Malfoy and his wife Astoria - his bloody _wife_ out of all people - had just emerged from the restaurant; they were following a waiter who was guiding them to their table, which just so happened to be three tables away from theirs, propped up by the wrought iron gate that guarded them from non-customers.

"Merlin's beard." James gasped; Draco noticed them and gave them a short nod. Harry waved back; Ron rolled his eyes and crossed his arms tightly against his chest, just in case his hand decided to give a rude gesture on its own.

"Nothing to worry about," Harry murmured out of the corner of his mouth, "it's not like we're talking behind his back or anything." James nodded, though at the same time his stomach was in the middle of doing an odd flip-flop.

"Merlin, I'm starving," Ron pressed his menu down on the table, "the sooner we get our food, the sooner we're out of here." He called for a waiter and ordered his food; Ron and James followed suit. When Ron was finished he stood up. "I'll be back; gotta use the loo." He sauntered into the restaurant; it was obvious that he was trying to ignore Draco and Astoria.

"Keep him distracted," Harry leaned over to his son to whisper in his ear, "now that Draco's here he probably won't stop talking about him."

"That's gonna be a little difficult, don't you think?" James asked uneasily.

"Yes, but it'd be best if we keep him off the subject of Draco for as long as we can - he's making me more nervous than I was when I fought Voldemort." Harry frowned, scratching his head.

"Alright, but I'm telling you, Dad - this is going to be hard." James muttered before taking a sip of his water.

--

The fresh air of the courtyard was not much of a help; the stabbing pain Scorpius felt in the core of his chest outgrew the fluttering feeling, and it felt as if he was having trouble breathing - or maybe it was just the lump in his throat. She was easy to spot even from where he was standing; the bronze hair was a dead giveaway.

"Impressive," Rose's musical voice sang to him once he was close enough, "I thought you'd be in there for longer." When Scorpius did not answer, she tilted her head to the side and examined the troubled look on his face. "Something the matter, Scorpius?"

"Huh?" He turned to face her, and it hurt how she looked so perfect right then and there. "No, 'course not."

"Whatever happened to the deceiving toerag I used to loathe with every fibre of my being? He executed his lies so _perfectly -_ surely there has to be a bit of him still in there somewhere." Rose scooted closer to him and reached up to brush the hair out of his eyes. "Talk to me, Scorpius."

He wracked his brain for a believable excuse. "NEWTs. I have no idea what I'm doing, and my father expects me to do well."

"But you will do well," Rose said comfortingly, "he knows you're not stupid. _I _know you're not stupid." She leaned in slowly but he backed away, and she frowned. "Okay, NEWTs is definitely not the reason why you're upset."

"It is," He prompted, though from the corner of his eye it was clear to see that she was unconvinced, "I'm just stressed out, that's all. Haven't been getting enough sleep and all that." The last part was true, but he was not losing sleep because of exams.

"Well, you do look exhausted," Rose agreed, albeit reluctantly, "maybe you should just go take a nap."

Scorpius immediately sprang to his feet at her suggestion. "Yeah, you're right. I think I'll go do that." He began to walk at a pace that was quicker than normal, but then he felt Rose's hand on his elbow, tugging him back.

"We're talking about this later." It sounded more like a statement than an order. She let go of his arm slowly, and he continued on his way, not bothering to look back. Not even once.

--

"Your mother knows now," Harry said, "we were talking about it the other day."

"What's taking Uncle Ron so long?" James asked, checking his watch; it had been nearly eight minutes since he had left for the bathroom.

"He's probably looking at the lobster tank again," Harry sighed, "he always makes sure that the lobster they choose for his meal is the largest. Anyway, your mum didn't seem as surprised either - she actually kind of laughed when I mentioned it."

"How does she know?"

"Rose sent your Aunt Hermione a letter a few days ago explaining everything."

James smiled, knowing that if it were not for him that letter might have never been sent, or at least not for a very long time. "I guess everybody knew it was coming."

"Everyone except your Uncle Ron, that is." Harry rolled his eyes, "He's been so keen on keeping them apart that he indirectly brought them together - the lectures, the insults, _everything - _he seems to have absolutely no idea."

"I wonder how Rose is going to break it to him," James mused, "it would be something to watch, that's for sure. Hopefully he won't find out like Al did."

"How did he find out?" Harry's voice was curious now; James grinned, unable to contain himself.

"He walked in on them snogging in the prefects' common room - they were groping on the couch like their lives depended on it!"

"That must've been traumatizing," Harry mumbled as James snorted with laughter.

"Yeah - if Uncle Ron finds out that way he's going to go completely _mad."_

"That's the part I'm worried about - his reaction, I mean. Actually, it's just not just me but your mum, and your Aunt Hermione - the whole family!"

_"The whole family?" _James repeated, "You mean _everybody_ knows except Uncle Ron?"

"Er, kind of." Harry admitted, "You can't really keep secrets from the Weasleys."

"As much as I hate to admit it, that's _very, very _true."Came a seething voice from behind; the Potters gulped loudly and slowly turned around in their seats to face a boiling Ron Weasley; his face nearly matched the colour of his hair and his fists were balled tight against his sides. He even seemed to be _shaking_ with anger.

"Er, how long have you been standing there, exactly?" Harry's voice was broken and high-pitched; Ron forced on a smile and stepped closer to his best friend.

"Oh," He laughed a little maniacally; everybody on the patio was staring now, including the Malfoys, "not long - just long enough to hear you talking about how your son caught my daughter and that blasted boy _snogging in the prefects' common room."_

Harry knew Draco was listening, because he heard a chair scrape against the concrete from behind. "L-look, Ron, there's a bit to explain-"

Ron laughed even louder than last time. _"Explain? _What's there to _bloody explain?_ Oh...I should just march straight into Hog-er, their school (Harry sighed in relief) and deal with this little problem myself…"

"Uncle Ron!" James cried, but he was ignored; Ron spun on his heel and marched straight out of the patio and onto the sidewalk. He forced the image of the school he had swore to avoid into his brain, picturing the towers and the hills and the stone walls; he did not care that there were stupid Muggles around...

Rose was better than this, he knew that - there had to be some kind of logical explanation. She would not let that _boy_ touch her like that…

"Weasley." A cold drawl erupted from behind, shaking off Ron's thoughts. The redhead exhaled slowly and turned around; Draco was standing a few feet away on the edge of the patio with his hands in the pockets of his blazer, looking bored as always. Anger flared up inside and Ron stepped closer to the man who once bullied him, and stared him down in contempt.

_"You!" _He screeched; Draco's facial expression did not change, "If there's anyone else in this besides your _son_ that I should condemn, it's _you! _Your whole effing family's to blame," He averted his blue eyes from Draco's grey ones for a second to glare at his wife, who was dumbstruck at her table, "feeding everything to your spoiled little brats with a silver spoon and throwing everything at their feet...making them think that they've got the whole bloody world at their fingertips…" He laughed and threw his hands up; Draco did not even blink, "after all we've been through, after what you've put my best friend through, after what my best friend had bloody done _for_ you...do you just sit in your office all day, thinking up of ways to screw us over even further? Is that what you do? Hm? Answer me, you-"

"Ron, that's enough." Harry had stepped in between them, "Draco, I'm really sorry; Ron's just a little over his head today and-"

"There's no need to apologize," Draco raised his hand, shaking his head, "I fully understand what he's trying to say, and although I can think of at least fifteen ways to counter his points, I'll play smart and choose not to express them." The corner of his thin mouth turned upwards in that all-too-familiar smirk. "However, I fully side on Weasley's frustration, as I too have only discovered this unfortunate event just now, through the conversation you were having with your son. I'd like to apologize on behalf of my own son, but I feel that it's inadequate to do such."

He sounded a lot like Lucius now, Harry noticed. "So...what are you planning to do about it, then? If this is what Rose and Scorpius wish, you _and_ Ron here don't have much of a say; they're adults now, they're entitled to do whatever they want."

"In most situations, yes," Ron said through gritted teeth, and Draco nodded in agreement.

"I will talk with Scorpius," The sleek blond said, "this will all be figured out in due time, without any casualties."

"If your boy did anything to hurt my daughter, there _will_ be hell to pay, Malfoy," Ron grunted, "I have at least seven years worth of hell to give you…"

"Ron," Harry grabbed his friend's shoulders and guided him back to their table; he felt people's eyes on them and he made a mental note to Confund them later, "you better have a seat; your lobster's going to come soon." He shuffled back to Draco. "I'm warning you, Malfoy - don't force your son into anything he doesn't want to do. He's old enough to make his own decisions."

"I'll let myself decide how I'll raise my own children, thank you," Draco's hand shot out and Harry shook it firmly. "I'll be seeing you, Potter." He strode back to his table and sat quietly, as if nothing happened.

"You are _insane,_ you know that?" Harry hissed as he sat down once again. He and James had just finished Confunding the surrounding Muggles and everybody was looking around in confusion.

Ron scoffed and shook his head; he seemed a little calmer now but the tips of his ears were still red. "I don't care what you say or think, Harry - I'm going to get to the bottom of this _tonight."_ He then added in a much smaller voice, "So when you said that everybody knows, you mean _everybody?"_

"Even your mum." Harry muttered, and Ron almost exploded.

"You've _got _to be effing kidding me," He cried, and apologized quickly when he noticed that everybody was staring at him again, "you really know how to hurt a bloke, y'know?"

"Well, Rose has put off telling you for a very good reason, and we have just witnessed first hand as to why she did so." Harry groused; the waiter came around with their food and relief surged through him and his son; food would take things off of Ron's mind, if only for a little while.

"We have a _lot_ to talk about after I'm finished here," Ron grumbled as he dove into his lobster, "a whole _lot_ to talk about!"

--

He needed to avoid her.

As much as it hurt to hide things from her, he knew it was necessary. He just could not bring himself to tell her just what was running through his mind right now.

He strayed away from all the places she would usually visit during the day, like the library or the prefects' common room; he spent the rest of the afternoon holed up in his dorm, lying quietly on his bed and staring into space. Whenever Holden or someone else walked in he would pretend he was sleeping.

When dinner came around he was quiet; he picked at his food, avoiding the stares his sister and his friends were giving him as he wordlessly sipped his pumpkin juice. He tried listening to some of the conversation that buzzed around him, but he gave up halfway; all he could think about was her.

He resisted the urge to glance over at the Gryffindor table on the other side of the Great Hall, and he forced himself to stay away from the library after he finished eating because he knew that she always went there after dinner. He could almost smell the stench of the dungeons as he made his way down the hall…

"Scorpius," He spun around, and the look she was giving him was enough to break his heart. Her voice sounded so strained. He was quiet as she stepped closer to him, and she was moving so slow it was almost dreamlike. When he did not say anything, she continued in that strained tone of hers, "what's wrong? Please tell me what's wrong." She leaned forward into him and he felt her thin arms around around his torso, but he refrained from speaking. She looked up and attempted to brush the hair out of his eyes, but he wriggled away from her grasp.

"No," He said, and it killed him, "we can't."

She straightened up, horrified. "W-what? What do you mean?"

"You were right," He said, his voice growing a little stronger now, "we can't hide this forever. We can't...we've got so much working against us. T-this isn't going to last."

"Everybody's okay with it, Scorpius - nobody's saying anything about it-"

"That's because your dad hasn't found us out yet!" He said, his voice growing louder with every word, "And my dad! Think about what can happen when they find out - think about what can happen to _you! _Your family!"

"You're thinking too much," She sounded like she was pleading, "nothing's going to happen to me, it's not like we're-"

"My father is capable of a lot of things, Rose." He growled, and the animosity in his tone frightened her; he could see it in the way she was shuddering under his gaze. "You were right from the very start - this is _wrong."_

If only there was some way he could tell her that he was trying to protect her.

If only there was some way he could tell her that he was just afraid.

She was laughing - not the kind of laugh where she had just heard a funny joke, but the kind of laugh where she was not believing what she was hearing. "So what now, then? What are you going to do?" There were tears in her eyes but her cheeks were dry. He was so empty.

He shrugged and turned the other way. "I don't know." He was walking now, and he tried his best to concentrate on nothing but that. Right, left, right, left. "Please leave me alone."

He heard her voice from behind but he had already drowned it out - right, left, right, left. He continued on like this until he reached his house's common room; thank Merlin it was empty.

The cool air of the dungeons wafted in his face as he made his way up to his dormitory; again, it was empty. Merlin must be working in his favour tonight.

Or maybe not.

A small black envelope with his name emblazoned in silver ink sat on top of his ruffled bed sheets; as he tore the letter open he realized that there was only two sentences written on the piece of parchment.

_In exactly ten minutes I will be in the foyer to bring you home. You are explaining _everything_ to me._

This should have scared him, but he did not feel anything.

He was so empty.


	28. Idiocy of the Male Species

_A/N: My eyes and brain are bleeding from all this studying, so I decided to give myself a break._

_Brace yourselves - this is _definitely _going to be the second-to-last chapter. Should I contemplate in writing an epilogue?_

_Oh well - happy (or not) reading! And thanks for the support, guys, I appreciate it._

_--_

**Idiocy of the Male Species**

"Where's Rose? I haven't seen her all morning." Hugo asked that afternoon by the beech tree; it was a warm summer Saturday - the last Saturday before exams to be exact - and mostly everybody in the school was outside, trying to soak up as much sun as possible.

Dominique gave her cousin a dark look. "You haven't heard what happened?" Her tone was incredulous.

Hugo, oblivious as ever, shook his head, his shaggy copper looks swaying to and fro. "No...what happened?"

"Draco Malfoy came to school the other night to bring Scorpius home," Jane explained sullenly, "he wants him to study there; he thinks it's a _better_ environment for him or something."

"He knows," Mandy added, "it's quite obvious."

"Duh - why else would he come to school at such an odd time? I wonder how he found out, though." Albus scratched the back of his head with the end of his quill. "I know for a fact that Rosie's in the library, at least - but she won't talk to anybody. She's got her nose buried into those books of hers."

"Give her some space, Al; she needs time to sort out a few things." Lisa said comfortingly, but Albus shook his head.

"But what if-" When all of the girls' eyes narrowed in his direction, he sighed in defeat and held up his hands. "-alright, alright. I'll leave her alone…for now."

"We're all worried for her, but there are times where we have to keep our distance. She needs to solve things on her own - or at least without you breathing down her neck." Jane patted her cousin's arm.

"I guess you're right," Albus muttered, shaking his head, "but she better not be beating herself up over it, 'cause none of it is her fault."

"Oh, you know Rose," Randy smirked, "she gets all worked up about it first, and then she figures out why this is all happening in the first place and she feels incredibly stupid afterward. She'll get through it, don't worry."

--

She was supposed to be crying; her head was supposed to be buried in her arms and her shoulders shaking with sobs. Her eyes were supposed to be red-rimmed and the corners of her mouth quivering. She was supposed to be wrought with depression and rejection, falling deeper into a bottomless pit of darkness, or drowning in a sea of pain.

Rose was sitting at her usual table in the library, surrounded by open textbooks and roll after roll of parchment. Her fingers were stained with ink and her shirt even looked a little wrinkled - she had been up since very early this morning studying for her exams. Her eyes were shiny with tears but none had fallen out as of yet, and her face was flushed with pent-up anger. The corners of her mouth were not quivering, but her fists were; she nearly broke her favourite scarlet quill twice, and if you looked at all of the rolls of parchment there were punctured holes and tears everywhere.

"Hypocrite," She hissed, flipping harshly through her Arithmancy textbook and nearly ripping the pages apart, "lying, sanctimonious, cowardly, rotten little bast-" She flicked her wrist a little too quickly and knocked over her ink bottle; the black liquid seeped through every piece of paper and book. Cursing a little louder now, Rose leapt out of her chair before the ink had the chance to stain her clothing and stabbed her wand in its direction; the table was instantly ink free.

Muttering expletives under her breath, she forced herself back down on her chair and resumed 'studying'. She ran a hand through her hair and exhaled slowly, mentally counting to ten in her head. She really had to concentrate now; there was no use fuming over the past.

But how could she not? One day Scorpius was convincing her that everything was going to be okay and that she should not be worrying about the consequences, and now _he_ was the one who needed to be convinced. Did that incident with James change his perspective? Did his sister tell him anything? Was Tatia sending him death threats?

It did not matter anymore anyway - he was gone, at least for the weekend. His father knew, and there was nothing to argue against that. There was no other explanation; why else would Draco Malfoy prance over to the school days before exams started to drag his son back home?

_"A better learning environment," _Rose snorted, and she slammed her book shut. That was probably the stupidest thing she had ever heard in her entire life. She knew what was going to happen, and she was going to prepare herself for it: Scorpius will be home for the weekend, and his father will brainwash him back into his old self-righteous, spoiled, malevolent, deceiving self and everything will be back to normal. It was not like she was going to let that bother her or anything; they only had exams, and then school was over. After graduation she did not have to see the likes of Scorpius Malfoy ever again, and she was going to live a long, fulfilling life with her friends, family and a successful career, whatever that may be.

She was certain she was going to be happy without him - who needs a Malfoy anyway? Dad was right.

"Er, Rose?" Her head slowly turned to glance over her shoulder and her expression softened when she saw a slightly uncomfortable looking Damien Byrne standing in between two bookshelves; there was a letter in his hand. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything-"

Why did things have to turn out differently between them? "No, you're not. Sit down." She motioned towards the chair beside her.

The Ravenclaw cracked a small smile and shuffled over to the chair; he tossed the letter onto the pile of parchment. "Hugo said that this was for you, but he was too scared to deliver it." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I think everybody's too scared to deliver it."

"Well, it was very brave and kind of you to do so, Damien." Rose reached for the letter; her fingers ran over the return address - it was from home. "Thank you."

He fumbled with his fingers for a little bit before answering. "Rose, I'm really sorry about what happened; you didn't deserve to-"

"You don't have anything to apologize for," She cut in, a little surprised at his odd behaviour, "you weren't the one who turned your back on me unexpectedly."

"He's a coward to have done something like that to you," Damien's tone darkened a little, "if his father didn't come to bring him home I would've confronted him myself."

"That's very sweet, but I don't think anything could've been done to sway him otherwise," The anger inside of Rose dissipated by just a fraction and she sighed, "I really thought he changed somewhat, Damien. Turns out I was just another one of his victims."

"Oh no, Rosie," The Ravenclaw pressed his hands on her shoulders, "trust me, he has changed - he's done a great deal of changing ever since first year, but that doesn't mean he's changed completely." His eyes darted to the letter on the table and he slowly rose from his chair. "I think I'll leave you to your own devices now. Take care."

She stood up as well and leaned forward to peck him on the cheek. "Thank you, Damien." He gave her a small smile and quietly slipped out of view. Once he was gone, she swerved around in her chair and grabbed the letter. She tore it open slowly and unfurled the parchment - the ink still smelled fresh, so it must have been written not very long ago.

_Rosie,_

_You have got a _lot_ of explaining to do, young lady. _

Great, Dad knows too.

_How did everybody find out before me? Why didn't you tell me that you and Scorpius were - it makes me uncomfortable to say it, but I hope you know what I'm talking about._

_I hope you distinctly remember all of the times I told you and your brothers and sisters that the Malfoys are a family that you should _not_ be making acquaintances with. They're a bunch of pompous, no-good, cheating liars and you'll only end up hurt in the end. I know you're hurting right now, but this is for the best, Rose - Scorpius' father and I had mutually decided on this._

_It's actually a funny story on how I found out: I was at lunch break with your Uncle Harry and your cousin James, and they just couldn't keep their mouths shut. I overheard them talking about it, and by coincidence Mr. Malfoy and his wife were having lunch at a table not so far away. I guess it would've been better to have heard the news from you, but it would've shocked me all the same. _

_Rose, you know I love you and I always will - this is for your own good. I understand if you don't want to talk to me for now, but I want you to know that I am always here for you. I hope you will do well - actually, I _know_ you will do well on your NEWTs, and I'll be there on your graduation._

_Love Always,_

_Dad_

Rose carefully folded the letter back into the envelope, scoffing as she did so. _For her own good? _She wanted to laugh. Of course she loved her parents with all her heart, but there were areas where lines had to be drawn - her love life was one of them. Her father, bless his heart, only wanted to protect her from getting hurt, and she admired him for caring that much, but she was old enough to think for herself now.

Oh, it did not really matter anyway - Scorpius was gone, and after graduation, everything would return to normal.

She whipped out a fresh piece of parchment and dipped her pen into the ink bottle; she would have to explain how she no longer cared about the on-goings of the Malfoy family…oh and her father specifically instructed her to explain _everything…_so she would have to start from the very beginning, then. She would have to explain the teasing, the numerous Quidditch-related incidents, the Potions assignment, Tatia Schultz, the Halloween Ball, that one night during patrol…

Her chest contracted and she dropped her quill - it could wait until later, she supposed. Sniffling slightly, she gathered her papers into a neat pile and stuffed them into her bag. She returned the books to their respective shelves and nearly dashed out of the library.

It could wait until later.

--

"...So now Scorpius is at home, apparently studying for his NEWTs."

"Isn't there anything you can do, Dad?" James asked worriedly.

Harry frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, pressing his side against his son's desk. "I don't think so; we're really not involved in any of this - it's more of your Uncle Ron and Draco's business."

"Well, we were the ones who sort of _informed_ them…"

"Yes, yes, I know," Harry's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, "but it's not like they weren't going to find out eventually, right?" James raised an eyebrow, and Harry's frown deepened. "Okay, well if it weren't for us they probably wouldn't have found out for a very long time. Still, it's none of our business, and we can't go around interfering in things we're not a part of."

"You think this whole thing's just as ridiculous as everybody else thinks it is," James countered, "but the only difference between you and everyone else is that you're bloody _Harry Potter_ - there has to be _something_ you can do. At least talk to Draco; I dunno...maybe he'll listen to you."

"We may no longer be school enemies, son, but that doesn't mean we're friends either. I doubt Draco will listen to me, and it's not like he'd have the time anyway - he's a department head, he's probably got loads of things to do."

"You're a department head too, Dad, if you've forgotten." James was rolling his eyes; Harry winced.

"Well, there haven't been enough evildoers to go around, so I've been blessed with more free time." The elder Potter straightened up a bit, trying to reclaim his dignity, but then his chest deflated when he read the look on his son's face. "Okay, I know I'm making excuses, you don't have to look at me like that. As much as I'd love to help, I can't."

"Dad..." James complained; Harry sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm going back to work. You better do the same." He left his son's work area abruptly. Muttering a string of obscenities under his breath, James swiveled around in his seat; he grabbed his quill and a piece of parchment. If his dad did not want to get his hands dirty, he might as well do all the work himself.

The tip of his tongue protruded out of the corner of his mouth as he dipped his quill into the ink bottle.

"Dear Fred…"

--

Scorpius was sitting at his desk, twirling his wand in his fingers. Ferdinand was hooting erratically and flapping around in his cage - he had been doing that for at least ten minutes now.

"Ah, sod off will you," The blond spat; he unlocked the cage and in an instant the tawny owl jetted straight for the open window. It was nighttime, and the sky was cloudy. The clouds were so thick the moon was not even visible. "I know I'm a twat - you don't have to rub it in." He muttered as he closed his window, watching his owl's departing figure growing smaller and smaller.

Scorpius dropped his wand and moved to collapse face-down on his bed, sighing loudly and running his hands through his hair. He had been cooped up in his room since last night, when his father kidnapped him from school and brought him back here. Draco had been trying to force information out of him but he managed to weasel away, brushing him off with shallow excuses. He still wondered how he got away with it.

_"Don't think I'm stopping here," _His father told him, _"I'll be around to talk to you again in the morning."_

So morning came, and Draco barged into his room to interrogate him for a second time, but Scorpius still kept his mouth shut.

_"I'm getting tired of this, Scorpius," _His father said through gritted teeth, _"I'm going to try again tomorrow morning, and if you refuse to cooperate, I'll have to take matters into my own hands."_

Huh. Matters into his own hands. He wanted to know what his father meant by that, but at the same time he kind of did not.

_You can't make up your mind on anything, can't you? _A voice that sounded suspiciously like his father's jeered,_ You want to know, yet you don't. You tell Rose you don't care about the consequences, and then suddenly you change your mind._

Scorpius groaned and rolled over on his bed, smacking his forehead with his palms. Everybody was against him now, including his own conscience. Things could not possibly get any worse…

"OI!" A muffled voice startled the blond, nearly sending him toppling off his bed. Scorpius bolted straight up and looked left and right, wondering where the voice was coming from. He shook his paranoia off, dismissing it as insanity due to his growing guilt, but then the voice piped up again.

"Malfoy! You idiot - your window!"

Did Ferdinand have a hidden ability to speak to humans? Scorpius turned slowly to face the window, and his eyes widened; there was a _car_ floating by his window. He rubbed his eyes and looked again - it was still there. Being born and raised in a magical world he figured he would be used to these things by now, but seeing a car floating out of your window in the middle of the night was something out of the ordinary, even in the wizarding world.

"Huh…" Scorpius rolled off his bed and edged towards the window; his eyes widened when he spotted James Potter grinning at him from the passenger's seat. He hurriedly unlatched the window and pushed it open.

"All right there, Malfoy?" The eldest Potter boy's grin broadened; Scorpius gulped and took a cautious step back. "Having a nice time wallowing in your self-pity and regrets?" James' tone soured a bit and the Slytherin flinched at the sudden change.

"Don't grind him too hard," The driver leaned forward a little so he could be seen; he was scrawny looking, and even under the pale moonlight his hair still managed to retain its fiery red hue. He sort of looked like Hugo at first glimpse but then Scorpius remembered that he was too young to drive even a floating car. "you're scaring the boy, James."

James laughed and leaned back in his seat, ruffling his hair. "Fine, fine." He turned to look back at Scorpius, who looked like he had been attacked by poltergeists. "Listen, we're getting you out of here, so get your stuff packed."

Scorpius blinked. "Y-you're what now?"

"You heard him," The redhead said gruffly, "we're bustin' you out of here. Now get your trunk packed - the sooner that's done, the sooner we can leave. Don't want your daddy to storm in to find us floating by your window, do we?"

"Er, right," Scorpius immediately raced away from the window, nearly tripping over his trunk; he ripped open his closet and drawers and threw whatever clothes he could find. He grabbed his books and shoved them into his trunk, along with his clothes and other necessities. He figured Ferdinand would be smart to know where he would be if he was not at home - Hogwarts was the only other place he had ever spent a lot of time in. He felt James' eyes on his back the entire time.

"Why are you helping me?" Scorpius asked as he handed James Ferdinand's empty cage; he turned back to grab his trunk.

"Because Rose is our cousin, and we hate to see her all bothered like she is now." James replied simply; he pulled the trunk into the car and pushed it into the back seat. "And since you're the root of her problems at the moment, we thought it would be a great idea if we kidnapped you so we can force you into apologizing to her."

Scorpius paused, just as he was about to crawl through the window. "You...what?"

"Eloquent, aren't you" The redhead driver snickered; he pressed a button on the dashboard and one of the back doors opened. Scorpius crawled through and shifted around so that half of his trunk rested on his lap. "we're gonna make you two kiss and make up - I'm Fred, by the way."

The mention of the word 'kiss' caused Scorpius' cheeks to heat up. James flicked his wand; the window closed quietly, as did the car door. Fred changed gears and circled around so that the car faced the other way. In an instant they were floating with the clouds, back to Hogwarts.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Rose likes you," James grimaced, _"a lot. _Because she's our beloved cousin, Fred and I only want to see her happy, and we think that the only way we'll see her happy again is if you two make amends."

"What makes you think she'd even want to look at me, after what I've said to her?" Scorpius stared down at his trunk, his voice heavy. When Fred and James burst out in laughter, his head snapped up in disbelief.

"You Malfoys aren't very bright, are you?" Fred smirked; Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Trust me, she'll want to see you, even if it doesn't seem like she does. We know her."

"Yeah," James turned around in his seat to face the blond. "knowing her, she _really_ wants to see you right now."

That caused a spur of hope to grow inside the pit of Scorpius' stomach, and he frowned. "What makes you so sure? She probably thinks I'm a cowardly hypocrite."

"Honestly, mate, she probably does," James agreed, chuckling a little bit, but then his voice hardened into a dead seriousness, "but you know her; she's bloody stubborn. Once she sees you, she'll come around."

"I dunno..." Scorpius' eyes trailed towards the window; the clouds were whisking by them as they zoomed through the night air.

"Is this how you wanna feel on your graduation?" Fred exclaimed; his rise in tone caused Scorpius to look up again. "Chin up! You don't wanna feel miserable at the end of your last year of school! You know she's nutters over you; don't be so modest about it!"

"And," James sighed, as if he regretted what he was going to say next. "I know you feel the same way towards her, so don't mess this up, alright?"

"But that's the thing," Scorpius cried, throwing up his hands, "what am I _supposed_ to say? _'Sorry for acting like a hypocritical dullard; can you forgive me and forget this ever happened?' _Things don't work out that way!"

"As corny as this sounds, Malfoy, you've got to be totally honest with yourself." James' voice was dead serious again, "Admitting that you _are _a hypocritical dullard is a good start."

"You might think it's difficult to come up with the words now," Fred added, "but trust me - when you see her face, everything will pour out, and I mean _everything."_

"Take it from us," James poked himself in the chest and a goofy grin crept onto his features, "we know what it takes to handle the female species."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to believe that?"

"Believe it or not, it's the truth." James grinned again, "You've got at least twenty minutes to think up of what to say, anyway. Don't rush yourself."

After spending some time with them in a floating car, Scorpius concluded that Rose's elder cousins were actually not that bad. Maybe this was a good sign? He reached out to roll down one of the windows; the frigid air blasted in, skimming his cheeks and relieving him of the tension that was jumping around inside. If Fred was right, then maybe there was not a need to think up of what to say now. A new determination surged through him and he straightened up a bit; maybe he could pull this off after all.

He thought of Rose's smile, and he leaned back in his seat, feeling a smile of his own coming on; what he would do to see her like that again…


	29. It Doesn't Really Matter

_A/N: Finally, after all these months of procrastinating, writer's block, insomnia and listening to various songs on repeat, we're at the last chapter!_

_Thank you to everybody who took the time to read this - you guys are awesome, really. Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it!_

_Okay, time for the last chapter! Hope it's satisfying. Thank you all again!_

--

**It Doesn't Really Matter**

When Scorpius was able to see the tips of the school's towers poking out from beneath the clouds, his hands became clammy and his heart began to pump erratically. His stomach was knotting and his knees were shaking. James swerved around in his seat and stared at the poor boy with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought you said you were ready for this." He said skeptically. Scorpius ran his fingers through his hair for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes; it was so messy it rivaled that of James'.

"It's just those last minute frights you always get when you're about to do something big," Fred reassured, "He'll be alright once he steps out."

"Are you sure? He's shaking like Albus in a girls' lavatory."

"I'm fine." Scorpius muttered pathetically. Fred shifted gears and the car began to lower; the tips of the evergreen trees from the forest brushed against the bottom. The blond gulped loudly, trying to force the painful lump down his throat. His quivering hands curled into fists and his stomach gave an unpleasant lurch as the car _thumped_ onto the grass. It was evening so the school grounds were a little hard to see; he glanced at the forest past Hagrid's house and wished he could just lose himself in it. Getting lost in a forest certainly sounded more appealing than confronting Rose Weasley at the moment.

"Do we have to do _everything_ for you, mate?" James had stepped out of the car; he wrenched Scorpius' door open and yanked him outside. "Go on, get inside - what are you bloody waiting for?"

The confidence that spurred inside of Scorpius moments earlier had somehow drained away; he was holding onto the car for support as he doubled over, trying to find his voice. He felt Fred's hand on his shoulder and it made him feel a little bit better.

"Oi, James - give the bloke a break, would you? You can't underestimate the female species...especially when they're most likely going to be in a foul mood!"

The eldest Potter boy sighed and rumpled the back of his hair. "You mean _especially_ when it's Rose Weasley."

"You're not making this any easier." Scorpius croaked; he stood up straight, though his knees were still quivering a bit. He pulled Ferdinand and his trunk out of the car and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. He was not in the right mindset to conquer the world, but he was okay enough to get this over with. "Wish me luck," He mumbled as he began wheeling his trunk towards the school.

"Er, wait," Fred called, and Scorpius glanced over his shoulder to look at him. "Make sure you look as pathetic as possible."

The blond raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

James barked out a bittersweet laugh and his hand reached for his hair. "It helps you out a bit, trust us."

"Though I guess I didn't really need to tell you that," Fred added, "You're already pathetic-looking as it is."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Thanks." He waved once and sucked in a breath; he was going to do this, and he was going to do this _now._

It was late, but not too late; Rose was probably in the prefects' common room by now. Scorpius decided to drop his things off in his dorm before facing her, and to probably force Holden into giving him a pep talk or some other form of moral support. He uttered the password into the Slytherin common room and wheeled his trunk inside; the garish green lamps and black leather sofas looked unchanged, and the dank, depressing feeling of the dungeons was still looming overhead. It had only been a few days but it felt like he had been gone for years.

"Huh," Holden was awake when Scorpius entered their dormitory, "Well, look what the cat dragged in." He was sitting on his bed with a battered copy of the _Divine Comedy_ in his hands.

"Shut up," The blond grumbled as he dumped his trunk on the floor; Ferdinand hooted impatiently and Scorpius fed him an owl treat in a feeble attempt to make him stop. "You don't have to say anything - I know I'm an irresponsible, cowardly tw-"

"I wasn't going to say any of those things, but if you wanted me to I'll be glad." Holden grinned as he hopped off his bed, ignoring the rumbustious snoring from Princeton and Porter, "I can't blame you for having your dad taking you home, but I _can_ berate you for saying all those stupid things to Rose."

Scorpius blinked. "W-what? How did you-"

"This is Hogwarts, mate. Word spreads quicker than the cold around here."

"Right…" Scorpius sighed and shook his head. "What am I supposed to tell her, Holden? She's probably planning my murder as we speak."

"I can't disagree with you on that," Holden chuckled, and Scorpius gulped, "She's been crabby ever since you left. Keeps holing herself up in the library, studying and muttering insults towards you under her breath. No one can approach her, for they fear she'll hex them 'till they can't feel their legs."

"Great," The blond sat on the edge of his bed and ran his fingers through his hair, "I was _so_ sure I was able to do this, too. I'm done for."

"Stop being so overdramatic," Holden hissed, catching Scorpius off guard, "It's such a _Malfoy_ thing to do. I thought you wanted to be different from that!" When the blond lowered his eyes to his shoes Holden sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, there really isn't much I can tell you. You're the only one who can make things right again, so if you're looking for the best advice you best ask yourself." He paused for a minute. "Oh, and it helps to be honest. Honesty's always a winner."

"Right. Honesty." The blond sat up and consciously smoothed out his shirt. "She's probably going to head back to her common room soon so I better get going. Thanks, Holden." He made his way towards the door, but he heard Holden stand up and he turned around.

"Don't forget to look-" But Scorpius held up a hand to stop him.

"Pathetic, I know."

--

It had been a long night for Rose; with that idiot all cozied up in his pretty mansion in Wiltshire she had to do the patrolling all on her own, which meant she had to peruse the _entire_ bloody school by herself. The redhead suppressed a yawn as she rose from the couch facing the fireplace; she decided to squeeze in a few more minutes of studying before she headed back to the Gryffindor common room for bed, and she knew that her siblings and cousins were probably still up so she stayed in the prefects room for some peace and quiet. She gathered her books and rolls of parchment and stuffed them in her bag, stifling another yawn. Roaming around the school by herself at night tired her out, and she wanted nothing more than dropping into her bed and dreaming of passing her exams with flying colours.

As she threw her bag over her shoulder the door burst open and someone barreled inside, nearly toppling onto the carpeted floor. Rose instinctively dropped her bag and plucked her wand from the inside of her robes, but when she saw a flash of platinum blond her eyes widened and her arm fell limp by her side.

Scorpius groaned as he stood up, dusting off his trousers. He rubbed the back of his head as he turned to grin sheepishly at her. "Er-"

Rose had come back to her senses and pointed her wand at him. With every step she took he took one step back until he was against the wall. "You've got a _lot _of nerve to show up like this," Her voice was low as she drew closer to him; she simpered as he cowered helplessly, "What makes you think you can just waltz in here and expect me to welcome you with open arms?"

"I-I never expected you to welcome me with open arms!" Scorpius cried, holding his hands up to show his defeat, "And I didn't _waltz_ in here - I kinda stumbled in-"

"Don't play smart with me!" Rose bellowed, and he shut up immediately. "First you tell me that I shouldn't worry about the consequences, and that we should do what we _feel_, and then you suddenly turn around and say that we _can't_ do this because there's _too much working against us,"_ She inhaled deeply; she was talking so quickly she was not even sure he was listening properly, "And now you're here again!" She was so close to hexing him the hand holding her wand was trembling, "Make up your bloody mind, already!"

"My mind _is _made up," Scorpius lifted himself off the wall and squared his shoulders; with a bout of courage he swatted Rose's wand out of the way and she gasped as she watched it clatter to the floor, "What I said to you that day made me look like the biggest hypocrite, and I'm aware of that, but I only said those things because...because I was afraid."

The redhead scoffed, her eyes lingering on her wand. "Afraid? Afraid of what, Scorpius?"

"Who else?" Scorpius laughed bitterly, rubbing the back of his head, "My father. I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if he ever found out, and I was so scared he was going to do something...when he keeps his mind on something he won't stop at nothing 'till he accomplishes it, and I know that the last thing he'd ever want to see is you and me."

"You're sounding more and more ridiculous with every word you're saying," Rose spat, but much to her surprise Scorpius looked unfazed; instead he continued on as if she did not say anything at all.

"I'm stupid, I know," He muttered, "But I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice. This is our last year here, Rose - our _last_ year! We're seventeen years old, and we're old enough to make our own decisions, feel our own feelings. I was so confident in thinking that I could stand up against my father and do things on my own for once, but when the tables turned and he found out about us I weaseled out...just like how any Malfoy would do." He stepped closer and his eyes darted from his hands to hers, "I've let my insecurities overcome me...I shouldn't have done that to you. I'm sorry." His eyes dropped to the floor and an uncomfortable twitching made itself present in the centre of Rose's chest.

"Scorpius," She murmured; he looked up hopefully, only to come in contact with Rose's hand. She smacked him so hard the sound reverberated throughout the room; his head twisted to the side and a red hand-shaped mark appeared on his cheek. "You are the stupidest person I've ever had the misfortune to meet," She grumbled as he rubbed his sore face, "You don't think of anybody except for yourself and you've got an ego bigger than bloody _Grawp!_ You hang out with those dullards you call _friends_ - except Holden, of course - and you've got the nerve to point out every single flaw in everybody you come across! You're a thickheaded, arrogant, pompous, foulmouthed, good-for-nothing little toerag," She exhaled slowly and her eyes suddenly softened, "And for some bloody reason I care about you more than anybody else in existence."

Scorpius automatically recoiled, ready to take the next hit, but when he heard the last sentence he opened his eyes and gaped at her in disbelief. "W-what?" He spluttered, shaking his head, "So...does that mean you...forgive me?"

Rose shook her head fiercely and he clamped his eyes shut, in fear she was going to hit him again. "No, not yet," He opened his eyes slowly and eyed the defeated expression on her face, "But at the same time I just can't stay angry at you. You don't know _how_ much I loathed you in the past few days…" She sighed, "But then when you come stumbling into the prefects' common room everything disappears."

"I'm really sorry," He mumbled as he ruffled his hair, "I don't know what else to say. There isn't much else I _can _say. You said everything that was needed to be said."

She sighed again and approached him slowly, encircling her arms around his chest and ducking under his chin. She breathed him in and closed her eyes against his collar. "I hate you." Her voice was slightly muffled against his shirt, "You make everything aggravating, confusing and wonderful at the same time." She glanced upwards and their eyes met; her eyes closed in bliss as she felt the warmth of his lips against hers. When they broke apart he pressed his forehead to hers, their eyes still locked on each other. Scorpius was smiling, and she knew she was too.

She knew that he knew that there was nothing else that needed to be said at the moment.

--

"Hurry up, Albus!" Rose hollered from downstairs; her eyes were trained on the door to the boys' dormitories, where her cousin was taking his sweet time. "Merlin, what the bloody hell is he doing in there? Painting his nails?"

"He's probably trying to do something with that disaster he calls his hair," Dominique was shaking her head, "He wants to look good when he accepts his diploma, you know."

"Scorpius is waiting," Rose's eyes darted to the clock on the wall, "Oh, I am going to _kill-"_

"I'm here, I'm here!" Albus burst out of the boys' dormitories and raced down the stairs; his hair was neatly combed, making him look nearly unrecognizable. "Okay, let's go!" Everybody was too shocked to move; they were staring at his tidy, slick hair. "Alright, I know it's neat! Can we go now?"

"Right," Jane was the first to snap out of her reverie, "Let's go." She pushed her siblings and cousins out of the Gryffindor common room and down the rotating staircases. Rose picked up the skirts of her robe, careful not to trip over them with the heels she was wearing. Her hair was done up in a loose bun today, with two wavy strands framing her face.

"Wow," Scorpius was waiting for them in the foyer; he eyed Albus' hair and let out a low whistle, "You managed to do the impossible, Potter."

"Sod off," Albus rolled his eyes as he linked arms with Lisa, "C'mon, McGonagall's gonna have our heads if we're another second late."

"See you guys!" Hugo and the others waved before heading out; Lily lingered behind, looking a little uncertain. Rose approached her with a raised eyebrow.

"Erm, is something the matter, Lily?"

The younger girl glanced up at her cousin, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I'm really sorry for acting so cold around you for the past few months, Rosie," She looked very close to tears, and Rose was beginning to feel a little worried, "I...I was just so angry at the fact that you were with Scorpius-"

"It's alright, Lily," Rose laughed nervously; she could feel Albus, Scorpius and Lisa's eyes on her back, "You don't have to apologize, I unders-"

"No, please, let me say this," Lily cried, "I wasn't really angry at the fact that you were going out with Scorpius, but more because you didn't tell me. I felt kind of hurt...and it took me a really long time to realize just _why_ you couldn't tell anyone, and when I finally figured everything out I just felt so stupid afterwards!" She shook her head and pulled Rose in for a hug. "I just want you to know that I'm _really_ happy for you, Rosie. I'm glad that you and Scorpius worked things out, and that if he ever does anything to you, you come to me first!"

Rose laughed and hugged her back. "Of course, Lily." She let go and gestured towards Scorpius and the others. "I have to go now - I'll see you later, okay?"

The younger redhead nodded and waved before dashing off. Scorpius raised an eyebrow as Rose returned. He reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together as they followed Albus and Lisa out of the foyer.

"What was she on about?" He asked suspiciously, Rose laughed nervously.

"She's just happy for me, that's all," She smiled, and Scorpius knew he was not going to get anything more out of her. The weather was perfect for the graduation ceremony; the sky was a clear, vibrant blue with not a speck of cloud and there was a light, summery breeze to level with the heat. The foursome descended the steps down the hill, where there was a stage and multiple rows of seats for the students; there was another section at the back, shaped like a semi-circle for their family members. Most of the chairs in both sections were already full.

"Quite a crowd we've drawn today," Scorpius smirked, "Better not trip, Potter."

"Don't jynx it!" Albus cried in apprehension, and Lisa and Rose burst into laughter.

"You'll do fine," Lisa assured him as they made their way towards their seats, "Just don't think about it so much. All you have to do is just walk up there, take your diploma and shake hands with McGonagall."

"You don't know how difficult that is for someone like me." Albus muttered; the seats were arranged alphabetically so everyone sat separately. Rose had to sit close to the back with practically nobody while Albus, Lisa and Scorpius sat a few seats within each other.

"I think I can see my parents," Scorpius muttered under his breath; Rose glanced over his shoulder and spotted a tall man with slick white-blond hair sitting not so far away, "Ugh, he's staring at me, I can feel it."

Rose's eyes flittered across the crowd and she cringed when she stopped on a bunch of redheads; Ron was sitting stubbornly in the middle of their vast family with his arms crossed and his eyes staring straight at her. She gulped and returned to Scorpius.

"You're not the only one," She shook her head and pushed him towards his designated row, "We'll figure this out afterward. McGonagall looks like she's about to start."

When Scorpius made his way to his seat she hurriedly walked over to hers; the moment she sat down McGonagall began a long, tedious speech on how it was a very 'productive year' and how she was sure everyone did well on their NEWTs. She rambled on about how she watched them grow from frightened little first years to 'mature, responsible seventh years' (in the distance she heard a few stifled snickers and giggles) and how she was so proud of their progress. By the time the ten minute speech was finished the students sitting around Rose were on the verge of nodding off.

"And now we will commence with the distribution of the diplomas," McGonagall announced, and everyone seemed to sigh with relief. She unfurled a piece of parchment so long that it drooped to the floor and nearly rolled off the stage. McGonagall and the other professors read the names one by one; James, Teddy and Fred hollered at Albus when it was his turn to receive his, and Rose, along with her cousins and other friends, cheered for Scorpius. When it was her turn to get hers she saw every member of her family stand up from their seats to cheer for her, and her cheeks burned in embarrassment; it was one thing to have just her parents, but her entire _family?_ Why did the Weasley clan have to be bloody gigantic?

"And there you have it," McGonagall said after an hour and a half of diploma distributing, "The newest Hogwarts graduates!"

The students cheered and tossed their hats in the air; in the background their families stood up and clapped and cheered for them. School was finally _over - _no more staying up until three in the morning to work on stupid essays or enduring boring lectures...but will life _after_ school be any different?

"Congrats," Scorpius emerged from the crowd with his usual crooked grin, "No more Hogwarts." He pulled Rose closer to him and captured her lips in a kiss; the noise of the other students and their families melted away as she closed her eyes against him. Her fingers wandered over to his hair; she missed the feeling of his wayward strands poking out between her fingers.

Suddenly an awkward cough caught both of their attention and they immediately pulled apart; a few feet away stood Hermione, who was smiling like nothing was going on, and Ron, whose face was transitioning between three different shades of red.

"Mum!" Rose's eyes widened, but she kept her composure; behind her Scorpius was gulping and rubbing the back of his neck, "Dad!"

"Oh, Rosie," Hermione moved in to hug her daughter tightly, "We're so proud of you. Congratulations!"

"Yes," Ron muttered, "Proud. We're _very_ proud of you."

"Oh," Rose slowly pulled away from her mother and gestured over to Scorpius, who was still trying to shake off his nervousness, "Mum...er, Dad...this is Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy."

Hermione, bless her, stepped forward to shake his hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Scorpius," She smiled kindly, "Congratulations - what are your plans, now that you're finished school?"

It looked like the Malfoy part of him was beginning to kick in because he suddenly straightened his back and spoke in an even, business-like tone, "I was thinking of becoming an Auror, actually," His hand moved from his neck to his hair, "I've always wanted to do something Quidditch-related but after sixth year I realized that it was kind of unrealistic."

Ron's expression softened unexpectedly. "You like Quidditch? Like...you _like_ like it?"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Yes...I've been a fan for ages. I was also on the Slytherin house team all seven years, and I was made captain in my third year, if that helps."

Ron stepped forward and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Oh? What position do you play, then, and what's your favourite team? I bet you're just one of those _mainstream_ fans-"

"I play Seeker," Scorpius replied casually; Hermione and Rose's eyes darted back and forth between the two males in disbelief as their conversation unfolded, "And I've been supporting the Stormers for over ten years."

"The Stormers?!" Ron shook his head, "The Stonewall Stormers?! You support a bloody _Yank_ team?!"

Scorpius chuckled. "They're from Canada, Mr. Weasley, and if it makes you feel better I'm also quite fond of the Falcons. Their excess violence is beneficial to them and amusing to their viewers."

To Rose and Hermione's surprise Ron laughed. He even reached forward to clap Scorpius (who was smirking victoriously) on the back. "Now _that's_ a conversation I'm willing to partake in! Now do you _really_ play Quidditch, or are you like your dad?"

"I didn't know it was possible for them to get along." Rose gaped as the conversation between her father and boyfriend continued on. Hermione sighed and shook her head in amusement.

"I always knew it was possible," She said, "But the only thing I worried about was your father's willingness to accept him. I guess once you find common ground you can go practically anywhere."

In the distance Rose could see Draco and Astoria scanning the crowd for her son, and it was then she decided that it was _her_ turn to do the charming. She grabbed Scorpius by the elbow and proceeded to drag him back into the throng of students. "Scorpius, I think it's time you went to talk to your parents."

"It was nice meeting you, Scorpius," Hermione waved as Rose and Scorpius melded back into the crowd, "I trust we'll be seeing each other again soon!"

"I'll admit you're not as bad as I thought you were," Ron smirked, "But I'm still keeping an eye out."

"That didn't go so bad," Rose said incredulously as she and Scorpius made their way towards his parents, "You were actually very charming."

"Must be a Malfoy thing," The blond shrugged his shoulders, "It was always a cinch for me when it came to talking to adults," He eyed his father, who looked bored and unimpressed as always, and he sighed. "But when I talk to my father it's a completely different story."

"You'll do fine," Rose assured him; they were getting closer and closer and her heart was beginning to pound painfully against her ribcage, "Just...er, act like you didn't escape your room via flying car."

"Right, I'll keep that in mind." Scorpius straightened his posture again once they were close enough to his parents. "Mother, Father." He addressed formally, his face stony.

"Congratulations, Scorpius." Astoria had a small smile on her face; she slowly turned to Rose and nodded, "And you too, Rose."

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy." Rose smiled back; out of the corner of her eye Draco was staring at her questionably.

"Er, I guess I don't really need to make any kind of introduction," Scorpius laughed nervously, "Since you kind of know who Rose is-"

"Congratulations to you both." Draco's voice was the usual tedious drawl, but he was smirking as if he was watching an interesting television program, "It must be relieving to know you won't ever have to come back here again."

"Er, actually I might," Rose piped up, and Draco's metal grey stare darted over to her, "I was planning to teach Arithmancy."

"Arithmancy…" The elder Malfoy smirked, much to Rose's surprise, "A respectable subject." He did not look impressed, but he did not look unimpressed either, and it was enough.

"You're a bright girl," Astoria piped up, "I know you'll be successful."

"Thank you," Rose flushed in embarrassment and her eyes dropped to her shoes; beside her Scorpius was snickering, and she made a mental note to kick him later.

"We better go," Scorpius slipped his hand over hers; Rose felt Draco's eyes immediately drop to their entwined hands but she did not feel intimidated. The younger Malfoy's grin was more than enough to cancel that feeling out. "Al is probably looking for us." He turned around to nod to his parents before melting back into the crowd with Rose.

She looked at him and contemplated on whether or not it was one of those moments where it was inappropriate to say something; Scorpius looked like he had just conquered the world, and he had every right to feel so.

"I'm surprised he didn't bring anything up about me disappearing the other night." He broke the silence minutes later as they brushed through the crowd; he tightened his hold on her hand so it would be harder for them to separate. "Or maybe he's saving that for later." He sighed and scratched his head with his free hand.

"I'm surprised your dad didn't give me a dirty look." Rose giggled, "Why is it that every parent - mothers in particular - have to know what their children's boyfriends and girlfriends' plans for the futures are?"

The blond shrugged; in the near distance Albus was talking animatedly with Lisa and a few of the Weasley cousins. "I dunno - it's a great conversation starter at the very least."

They approached Albus and exchanged their congratulations; they lingered in the crowd and excitement until McGonagall announced that dinner was ready in the Great Hall. Somehow everybody managed to fit in the four long tables, and to everyone's surprise Scorpius and Ron engaged in a very heated conversation about Quidditch. When dinner was finished the families gathered in the foyer to go home.

"What exactly were you and my dad arguing about?" Rose raised an eyebrow as she walked with Scorpius out of the Great Hall.

"We weren't arguing," Scorpius stared at her as if that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard her say, "We were just having an impassioned conversation."

Not too far away Ron was chatting with Harry and Neville; he looked like he was trying very hard to avoid Draco Malfoy, who was standing in the exact opposite side of the room. Rose frowned and shook her head. "Do you think they'll at least _try_ to get along?"

Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "There's a lot we don't know about them, Rose. Maybe there's stuff they're not telling us," He wound his arm around the redhead's waist and pulled her closer, bringing his lips closer to her ear. "But it doesn't really matter now, does it?"

Memories of the past year sifted through Rose's mind: the redecorating incident, being forced to work together in Potions, Tatia Schultz and Damien Byrne, the Halloween Ball, conjuring a Patronus, a Bludger to the head, Albus and James, Ron and Draco - they all whirred by so quickly it was nearly impossible to differentiate between them.

An earsplitting explosion erupted from somewhere outside, and everybody's heads turned towards the main doors.

"Uncle George and Fred must be here!" Lily cried; the tall doors opened to reveal an inky sky mottled with splotches of fireworks in all different shapes and colours. Everyone rushed outside to watch; James, being the child that he is, yelped in glee and was the first to run out.

Rose giggled and shook her head as she pulled Scorpius towards the fireworks.

"No, it doesn't." She grinned, and he could only grin back.


	30. Epilogue: Here We Go Again

_A/N: I decided to add this in just for kicks._

--

**Here We Go Again**

The beginning of September was usually warm with the last moments of summer heat, but this year was an exception. The air was frigid as Platform 9 3/4 began to slowly fill up with students and their families. Scorpius exhaled sharply and sulked as a puff of warm air formed and disintegrated in front of his face in a matter of seconds; stupid, bloody London weather. His shoulders sagged as he pushed his trolley forward, sighing and watching more puffs of warm air emit from his mouth.

"Stop sulking, will you?" Rose laughed from beside him, "You're acting as if you're the one going to school. Show a little enthusiasm for Rion."

Scorpius looked downwards to see a boy with metal grey eyes and strawberry blond hair; he was already dressed in his Hogwarts robes. "You're going to love it," Scorpius smirked as he reached to tousle his son's hair, which was already pretty untidy to begin with, "Just remember to beat everybody in all of your classes and you'll do just fine."

Rion smirked back; he was Scorpius' splitting image. "Will do."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Competitiveness won't get you anywhere - just do the best you can and work at your own pace." The toddler in her arms gurgled excitedly. "Oh, Rion - your sister wants to say goodbye to you." The littlest Malfoy reached for her brother, and Rion peered into his mother's arms to smile at her.

"I'm not going yet, Mira," Rion cooed; his sister laughed and patted his cheek with a chubby, pale hand. He turned around and scanned the crowded platform. "Aren't they supposed to be here now?"

Scorpius sighed and rumpled his hair. "Oh, you know your Uncle Albus - always manages to arrive in the nick of time. They'll be here before you know it." His eyes wandered around, eyeing the different families, when suddenly he stopped on a certain female with pure, liquid hazel eyes and a fair, flawless complexion. Horrid memories of seventh year flooded back and he cringed.

"Er," He stuttered, and Rose turned to see who he was looking at, "Is that who I think it is?"

"Tatia Schultz?" Rose shook her head amusedly, "Yes, yes it is - but she's Tatia Byrne now."

"What?!" Scorpius screeched, ignoring the strange looks the people surrounding him were giving, "How did a bloke like Byrne end up with a...a…" He fluttered his hands, implying that the word he wanted to use to describe Tatia was inappropriate around children.

"People grow up, you know," Rose countered, "And they started dating a year after we graduated. We were invited to their wedding but we were in vacation in Romania with my parents, remember?"

Right on cue Damien appeared, wheeling a cart loaded with a trunk and an owl cage; a girl who looked exactly like Tatia was skipping alongside him and Scorpius' eyes widened. He whirled around to face his son, who was staring in the same direction.

"Who's that, Dad?" The strawberry blond asked, his eyebrow raised. Scorpius felt Rose's eyes on his back but he ignored her; he knelt down in front of his son and pressed his hands on his shoulders.

"Orion Caelum Malfoy," His tone was very serious, and it only made his son more confused. Behind the both of them Rose groaned and shook her head, but Scorpius did not acknowledge it; there was no way an offspring of Damien Byrne was going to upstage _his_ son. "I want you to promise me that you will beat that girl in every single test you will ever have in the seven years you will be spending at Hogwarts."


End file.
